1 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H|  j ; ;  i 

f 

UG 

1 

liiiiiii  ^^M 

$B    EbM    T17 


CHRISTIAN  LIFE 
IN  THE   COMMUNITY 


CHRISTIAN  LIFE 
IN  THE  COMMUNITY 


A.  J.  W.  MYERS 


ASSOCIATION    PRESS 

New    York  :     347     Madison    Avenue 
1919 


(3  vLis 
Mf 


Copyright,  1919,  by 

The  International  Committee  op 

Young  Men's  Christian  Associations 


''n 


To 
MY  MOTHER 

AND  THE 

MEMORY  OF  MY  FATHER 
In  Gratitude  and  Love 


448713 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/christianlifeincOOmyerrich 


FOREWORD 

Leadership,  the  management  of  and  participation  in  great 
movements,  and  the  kind  of  service  that  touches  roots  and 
causes,  appeal  to  men  and  women  today.  It  is  significant 
that  no  one  can  make  a  study  of  the  Church,  such  as  is  here 
presented,  without  being  impressed  over  and  over  again 
that  such  work,  more  than  anything  else,  characterizes  the 
essential  nature  of  the  Church's  life  at  the  present  time. 

This  course  seeks  to  enlist  men  and  women  in  that  noble 
fellowship  of  service.  The  call  is  urgent.  Those  with  the 
spirit  of  the  Crusaders  will  not  fail  to  respond. 

Under  the  "Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation,  and 
Practice  Work"  a  Scripture  reference  is  always  placed  first. 
These  passages  are  not  cited  as  proof  texts.  But  our  in- 
spiration to  service  comes  largely  through  the  Bible,  and  the 
suitability  of  these  passages  as  a  background  for  our  think- 
ing will,  it  is  hoped,  be  apparent. 

Suggestions  to  students  throughout  the  course  ought  to  be 
followed  conscientiously.  Not  one  of  them  has  been  made 
except  under  the  conviction  that  it  would  be  of  real  help. 
The  aim  is  to  arouse  personal  interest  and  induce  indepen- 
dent thought  and  investigation.  The  study  will  have  failed 
of  its  purpose  if  the  students  do  not  get  into  closer  personal 
touch  with  the  local  conditions  affectmg  human  welfare  and 
develop  a  more  sympathetic  understanding  of  others. 

The  student  should  set  aside  a  certain  time  each  day  for 
the  study,  so  that  he  may  be  able  to  sit  down  unhurried  to 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

enjoy  the  course,  without  being  haunted  by  the  thought 
that  he  is  taking  time  from  some  other  work.  This  attitude 
of  mind  is  important.  As  many  days  and  class  meetings 
should  be  given  to  each  chapter  as  are  necessary  for  thorough 
study. 

The  course  is  planned  equally  for  men  and  women.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  study,  investigations,  and  class  fellowship  may 
promote  good  citizenship  and  the  extension  of  the  Kingdom 
of  God. 


The  book  is  the  result  of  consultation  and  cooperation  be- 
tween the  North  American  Student  Movements  and  several 
of  the  Church  Sunday  School  Boards,  in  an  effort  to  provide 
material  for  training  students  more  adequately  for  work  in 
relation  to  local  churches.  The  Canadian  National  Student 
Council  appointed  a  committee  representing  the  denomina- 
tional Sunday  School  Boards,  the  Dominion  Council  of  Young 
Women's  Christian  Associations,  and  the  Canadian  National 
Council  of  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations.  The  Com- 
mittee on  Voluntary  Study  of  the  Council  of  North  American 
Student  Movements  —  representing  the  Student  Young  Men's 
and  Young  Women's  Christian  Associations  in  the  United 
States,  the  Student  Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's 
Christian  Associations  in  Canada,  and  the  Student  Volunteer 
Movement  —  cooperated  through  a  special  sub-committee. 
The  author  has  worked  in  direct  relation  with  these  com- 
mittees in  the  preparation  of  the  manuscript.  While  the 
book  was  planned  from  the  viewpoint  of  the  situation  in 
Canada,  the  author  has  had  experience  on  both  sides  of  the 


FOREWORD  ix 

line,  and  gives  attention  also  to  the  problems  in  the  United 
States.  Combining  as  it  does,  this  study  of  Christian  Hfe  in 
the  community  from  the  viewpoint  both  of  the  problems  in 
Canada  and  in  the  United  States,  it  is  hoped  it  will  prove  of 
help  to  individuals  and  groups  in  both  countries. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Foreword vii 

I.  Introduction 1 

II.  The  Challenge 8 

III.  The  Challenge  (continued) 22 

IV.  The  Forces  at  Work  Making  for  Improve-' 

MENT 35 

V.  The  Place  and  Power  of  Religion 62 

VI.  The  Function  of  the  Local  Church 67 

VII.  Opportunities   for    Service    through  the 

Church 81 

VIII.  Opportunities    for    Service    through    the 

Church  School 98 

IX.  How  to  Take  Hold 116 


CHAPTER  I 
THE   VIEWPOINT  OF  LIFE 

The  writer  of  this  book  believes  profoundly  that  every 
normal  young  man  and  young  woman  wants  to  make  the 
greatest  possible  success  of  Hfe.  This  assumption  is  taken 
for  granted  in  every  chapter.  Our  students  amply  justify 
this  faith. 

And  what  a  time  it  is  in  which  to  live  and  to  be  young!  We 
have  sometimes  envied  men  and  women  who  lived  greatly 
because  of  the  stirring  events  of  their  day.  But  never  was 
there  a  time  when  great  events  crowded  so  fast  upon  each 
other.  Idealism,  morality,  the  cry  of  the  weak,  the  voice  of 
God,  have  called  thousands  of  our  young  men  and  women  to 
fields  of  battle.  Our  blood  tingles  with  enthusiastic  loyalty 
to  them  and  to  God's  Cause,  for  which  they  fought  as  truly 
as  did  any  of  the  saints  of  old.  Those  who  work  in  factories, 
on  farms,  by  conserving,  saving,  and  in  every  other  way  that 
strengthens  the  Right,  are  an  essential  part  of  that  vast  army. 
During  the  World  War,  deeds  of  heroism,  self-sacrifice, 
personal  loyalty,  and  love  abounded  in  military  and  in  private 
life  and  most  of  all  perhaps  among  the  cruelly  downtrodden 
in  the  Httle  nations  of  Belgium,  Armenia,  Serbia,  Roumania, 
Montenegro,  Assyria,  Poland,  and  the  overrun  portions  of 
France,  Italy,  and  Russia.  With  all  its  sorrow  it  was  a  time 
of  exaltation.  Faith,  at  first  shaken  to  its  very  foundations, 
has  been  based  more  firmly  on  the  Rock,  and  the  glorious 
victory  has  filled  all  the  AlUes  with  gratitude  to  God.  They 
can  cry  out  in  the  words  of  the  Psalmist:  "Not  unto  us,  O 
Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name  give  glory"  (115:  1). 
"We  were  like  them  that  dream  .  .  .  The  Lord  hath  done 

1 


2       CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

great  things  for  us;  whereof  we  are  glad  "  (126:  1, 3).  Never 
in  our  generation  was  ttierii  such  a  keen  sense  of  the  need  and 
of  the  presence  of  God. 

Ten  thousand  voices  call.  Irresistible  appeals  come  day- 
after  day.  Every  spark  of  sympathy,  self-sacrifice,  and 
heroism  in  us  responds.  We  are  impatient  to  get  at  many 
things.  It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  see  just  what  our  efforts 
are  accompHshing  or  what  we  can  do.  The  spectacular  and 
that  which  brings  quick  results  seem  sometimes  to  be  alone 
worth  doing.  We  need  to  be  reminded  that  often  the  most 
fundamental  and  far-reaching  service  is  not  spectacular  and 
brings  no  visible  and  quick  returns.  This  course  of  study 
seeks  to  direct  the  attention  to  some  fundamental  things. 
These  are  not  always  showy,  but  they  are  permanent  —  per- 
manent in  their  need  and  in  their  results.  It  seeks  to  point 
out  the  opportunity  offered  for  life  investment  through  the 
Church. 

We  all  want  to  make  a  success  of  our  lives.  It  is  well  for 
us  first  to  take  some  time  to  make  clear  to  ourselves  just  what 
we  mean  by  "success"  in  life.  Let  each  student  stop  and 
write  down  just  what  he  considers  essential  for  himself  if  his 
life  is  to  be  a  success.  If  each  will  do  this  for  himself  and 
write  out  in  his  own  words  what  his  ideal  for  his  own  fife  is,  it 
will  help  to  clarify  his  thinking  and  will  also  help  to  center 
attention  on  the  crucial  points  in  the  following  studies. 

After  all,  there  are  but  two  main  classes  into  which  all  life 
purposes  may  be  divided,  though  the  forms  are  legion.  The 
first  main  division  comprises  all  that  are  self -centered.  This 
desire  may  express  itself  in  a  determination  to  make  money, 
to  attain  position,  to  get  fame,  to  be  sought  after,  courted, 
pandered  to,  to  be  popular,  to  have  a  care-free,  easy  time,  to 
sit  in  the  place  of  authority  and  sway  the  scepter  of  influence. 

All  of  us  have  had  at  times  such  dreams.  We  have  pic- 
tured ourselves  rich  —  with  a  fine  house,  motor  cars,  motor 
boats  —  influential,  our  advice  sought  by  leading  people,  the 
center  of  admiring  crowds.    While  these  are  often  but  passing 


THE  VIEWPOINT  OF  LIFE  3 

"day-dreams,"  they  help  us  to  appreciate  the  point  of  view. 
With  most  people  these  dreams  are  merely  the  giving  free 
rein  in  fancy  to  the  desire  for  personal  gratification,  for  power 
and  approbation  that  is  inherent  in  our  nature.  Unfortu- 
nately with  many  these  ideals  dominate  their  hves.  It  is  the 
philosophy  of  those  often  amiable  ones,  who  are  at  home  in 
any  crowd  and  can  take  a  drink,  or  swap  a  shady  story,  or 
accept  a  rake-off  without  any  moral  revolt.  Browning's 
"The  Patriot''  gives  a  classic  picture  of  the  man  whose  burn- 
ing ambition  is  to  be  popular  and  who  gives  freely  of  pubUc 
funds  to  gain  applause.  George  EHot  has  uncovered  merci- 
lessly the  person  of  great  promise  who  seeks  only  his  own 
interest.  Tito  in  "  Romola  "  is  a  wonderful  study  of  the  inevi- 
table development  of  a  life  full  of  promise  and  of  good  impulse 
that  allows  self-interest  to  become  its  aim.  The  revelation 
makes  us  tremble,  for  the  same  elements  are  in  our  own 
hearts.  Napoleon  has  been  perhaps  the  greatest  example  of 
a  life  centered  in  self  until  ecUpsed  by  the  emperor  and  war 
lords  of  Germany. 

One  of  the  serious  results  of  such  a  purpose  for  young  college 
people,  even  if  it  never  has  been  expHcitly  expressed,  is  that  it 
warps  our  judgment  as  to  what  occupation  or  vocation  we 
should  follow.  For  example,  if  we  want  to  be  rich  and  have 
certain  luxuries  we  never  even  stop  to  consider  the  possibility 
of  taking  up  for  our  life  work  the  ministry,  missionary  service, 
the  Young  Men's  or  Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
social  service,  teaching,  or  similar  work,  however  great  the 
need  or  however  great  our  qualifications  for  such  work  may  be. 
These  get  no  hearing.  They  are  simply  brushed  aside.  If 
one  is  resolved  on  a  care-free  life  of  ease,  the  question  of  right 
is  ruled  out.  Not  "Is  it  right?"  but  "Is  it  easy  or  profit- 
able?" is  the  deciding  consideration.  The  present  world 
crisis  gives  many  examples,  both  of  individuals  and  nations, 
who  act  on  this  principle.  But  who  admires  the  slacker? 
What  halo  is  about  his  head?  Who  wants  the  place  he  will 
be  given  in  history  and  in  the  judgment  of  the  future? 


CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 


1 


The  second  division  includes  all  whose  purpose  it  is  to  help 
others  and  make  the  world  a  better  place  in  which  to  live.  Persons 
with  this  ideal,  as  in  the  former  division,  are  also  found  in 
every  walk  of  life  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 

When  the  dominant  purpose  in  hfe,  among  many  conflict- 
ing ends,  is  to  be  true  to  the  best  and  to  help  others  make  the 
world  better,  the  question  which  the  young  man  or  woman 
faces  honestly  is.  How  can  I  make  the  best  investment  of  my  life? 
Life  is  the  most  precious  thiog  one  has  —  the  one  possession 
of  any  permanent  value.  Whether  one  regards  his  life  as 
insignificant  or  important  he  must,  if  wise  and  sincere  in  his 
purpose,  take  the  utmost  pains  to  see  that  it  is  invested  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  decision  as  to  one^s  hfe  work  and  atti- 
tude to  life  is  therefore  of  utmost  importance,  the  more  so 
because  there  is  about  it  a  certain  finality.  Once  the  die  is 
cast,  seldom  does  the  inclination  or  the  opportunity  come  to 
change.  And  this  is  as  true  of  one's  attitude  to  life  as  it  is  of 
the  choice  of  life  work. 

To  decide  on  one's  investment  of  life,  the  most  momentous 
decision  anyone  can  make,  it  is  necessary  to  study:  First, 
one's  own  ability;  second,  the  needs  of  the  world;  and,  third, 
the  possible  openings.  It  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized 
that  opportunities  for  service  are  not  hmited  to  a  few  caUings. 
There  is  opportunity  in  every  honorable  calling  —  in  labor, 
business,  agriculture,  politics,  the  professions,  on  land  or 
sea  —  great  opportunity  and  great  need.  But  the  question 
everyone  must  ask  is.  In  which  can  I,  with  my  powers  and  limi- 
tations, make  the  best  investment  of  my  life? 

Sometimes  it  seems  to  young  people  that  service  means 
negation  of  self,  ^'burying  oneself,"  ^'throwing  away  one's 
prospects,"  crucifixion.  But  can  we  name  any  admirable 
person  whom  people  love  and  history  honors  who  has  not 
given  of  his  best  to  serve  his  fellows  and  make  the  world 
better?  Is  not  service  the  dominant  characteristic  of  each 
one  whom  we  love?  For  example  —  Florence  Nightingale, 
David  Livingstone,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Lloyd  George,  "Papa" 


THE  VIEWPOINT  OF  LIFE  5 

Joffre,  Frances  E.  Willard,  General  Booth,  Harvey,  Pasteur, 
Dickens,  Tennyson,  the  Brownings,  Longfellow,  Edith  Cavell, 
Paul,  Jesus.  Make  a  list  of  those  whom  you  greatly  admire 
and  love  and  see  if  it  is  not  a  characteristic  of  every  one  of 
them.  Did  "service"  in  any  of  these  mean  the  negation, 
crucifixion,  throwing  away  of  the  real  self?  Or  did  it  mean 
the  nurture  and  development  to  wondrous  proportions  of  the 
real  self? 

The  student  has  privileges  and  opportunities  bestowed 
upon  him  by  the  labor  of  others  that  are  given  to  but  few.  It 
is  estimated  that  the  colleges  and  universities  are  kept  up  for 
about  five  per  cent  of  the  people;  the  high  schools  for  about 
ten  per  cent.  This  places  upon  every  student  an  unescapable 
obligation  to  use  his  life  to  the  best  advantage,  to  make 
conditions  better  for  others,  and  to  hand  down  a  richer  heri- 
tage to  future  generations  as  some  slight  return  for  all  that 
has  come  to  him  from  the  labor  and  sacrifice  of  others.  This 
obligation  is  increased  a  millionfold  by  the  price  at  which 
liberty  and  everything  we  hold  dear  have  been  purchased  for 
us  in  this  terrible  German  war.  As  these  have  dedicated 
themselves  by  ''offering  themselves  willingly,"  we  must  dedU 
cate  ourselves  to  the  unfinished  task  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

"Life  is  a  leaf  of  paper  white 
Whereon  each  one  of  us  may  write 
His  word  or  two  —  and  then  comes  night. 
Greatly  begin!  though  thou  have  time 
But  for  a  line,  be  that  sublime,  — 
Not  failure,  but  low  aim,  is  crime." 

—  Lowell,  "For  An  Autograph." 

The  call  is  imperative.  Every  college  student,  like  the 
host  of  college  men  and  women  among  the  Allies  in  the  War, 
must  make  his  life  count  for  the  most.  He  should  be  able  to 
give  direction  and  leadership  in  the  local  community.  This 
does  not  mean  holding  a  prominent  place,  being  in  the  lime- 
light, "lording  it  over"  others.     "So  shall  it  not  be  among 


6       CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

you,"  said  the  Master.  It  does  mean  that  he  should  stand 
behind  every  influence  for  good,  a  whole-souled,  confident, 
sympathetic  supporter,  who  inspires  by  word  and  by  consistent 
example.  It  is  hoped  that  this  course  will  enable  the  student 
to  see  the  issues  more  clearly  and  to  have  greater  skill  in 
making  his  influence  count. 

The  student  must  survey  the  thousand  opportunities  and 
demands  that  meet  him  in  any  calling,  sometimes  weigh 
higher  salary  and  personal  gain  against  greater  influence,  and 
decide  in  which  he  will  get  the  biggest  returns  for  his  invest- 
ment of  effort.  He  must  not  exclude  in  his  survey,  if  he  is 
honest  with  himself,  any  life  work  at  home  or  abroad.  The 
whole  world  Ues  before  him  as  a  field  for  Christian  service. 
The  question  is,  Where  can  he  make  his  life  count  for  most? 
That  question  marks  a  straight  line.  The  honest  student 
will  hew  to  the  line,  let  the  chips  fall  where  they  may. 

But  whatever  the  calling,  two  facts  stand  out  distinct  and 
clear.  First :  No  one  can  be  his  best  self  or  serve  others  effec- 
tively without  living  in  close  conscious  fellowship  with  God  — 
that  is,  without  rehgion.  And,  second,  bearing  in  mind  that 
the  Church  —  that  is,  organized  reUgion  —  is  found  every- 
where, on  the  whole  the  greatest  opportunities  for  service  to 
persons  in  any  vocation  come  through  the  Church  and  similar 
forms  of  organized  religion.  These  are  the  theses  of  this 
course  of  study. 

First,  it  will  be  necessary  to  see  conditions  as  they  are,  in 
order  to  appreciate  the  challenge  in  the  present  situation  to 
every  college  student. 

Suggestions  for  Study,   Investigation,  and  Practice 
Work 

1.  Read  Matt.  13:45,  46.  The  pearl  merchant  found 
what  was  for  him  the  greatest  investment.  He  staked  every- 
thing on  hds  decision.  Is  not  the  Kingdom  of  God  for  every- 
one the  finding  of  what  is  for  him  the  greatest  investment  of 


THE  VIEWPOINT  OF  LIFE  7 

his  life  and  throwing  every  resource  of  his  life  into  that 
endeavor?  Note  how  much  depends  on:  (a)  One^s  ideal  of 
what  constitutes  success;  (6)  whether  one  has  faith  and 
courage  to  pay  the  price  and  invest  everjrthing,  as  did  the 
pearl  merchant. 

2.  If  everyone  wants  to  make  a  success  of  life,  why  are  there 
so  many  moral  failures?  One  should  give  a  brief  character 
sketch  of  "The  Patriot''  or  recite  the  poem  and  another  one 
of  Tito.  How  do  these  two  studies  help  us  to  understand 
ourselves? 

3.  Make  a  Hst  of  favorite  characters  and  classify  them,  as 
suggested  in  the  text.  To  how  many  of  these  may  the  life 
work  they  adopted  have  looked  like  "sacrifice"?  How  does 
it  appear  now? 

4.  What  special  obligation  rests  upon  young  people  today 
to  make  the  world  better,  because  of  (a)  the  inheritance  from 
the  past;  (b)  the  price  paid  by  others  for  us  in  the  War? 
What  rests  upon  college  students  in  particular,  because  of  the 
special  privileges  that  have  come  to  them  through  the  money 
and  labors  of  others?  Each  student  should  sketch  how  and 
at  what  cost  our  privileges  have  come  to  us,  such  as  educa- 
tion; freedom  in  religion;  lands  (pioneers);  courts  of  justice; 
political  institutions;  freedom  from  German  tyranny. 

5.  Each  student  should  decide  this  question  for  himself: 
Am  I  ready  to  invest  my  whole  life  in  what  I  am  convinced 
is  for  me  the  best  investment?  In  this  connection  study  the 
parable  again  and  consider  the  first  thesis  on  page  4.  / 


CHAPTER  11 
THE  CHALLENGE 

Granted  that  every  wholesome  young  man  and  young 
woman  is  anxious  to  make  the  best  of  life  and  that  the  only 
real  success  is  the  investment  of  one's  life  in  such  a  way  that 
others  are  helped  and  the  world  is  made  better,  the  question 
arises,  What  remains  to  be  done?  So  many  reforms  have 
taken  place,  so  many  improvements  made,  that  young  people 
sometimes  sigh  because  nothing  worth  while  is  yet  to  be 
accomplished.  But  so  far  is  this  from  being  the  case  that 
there  never  was  a  time  in  all  history  when  there  were  so  many 
big,  worth-while  things  to  do  and  such  opportunities  for 
young  people  to  make  their  influence  felt. 

In  other  days  events  moved  slowly.  Today  they  crowd 
upon  each  other.  What  formerly  took  a  generation  to  do 
may  now  be  done  in  a  year.  The  record  of  the  changes 
taking  place  since  the  beginning  of  the  War  reads  like  a 
romance.  For  example,  a  few  of  them  are:  Government 
control  of  railroads  and  other  industries;  regulation  of  prices 
and  profits;  woman  suffrage;  prohibition;  prevention  of 
waste;  conservation  of  food,  coal,  and  other  necessities;  and 
the  recognition  of  idleness,  including  the  idleness  of  the  rich, 
as  crime.  Now  that  the  War  is  over,  the  question  arises: 
How  can  we  secure  the  subordination  of  private  interest  to 
the  common  good  in  peace  time  as  was  possible  in  war 
time?  Why  should  not  every  entrenched  evil  be  a  stinging 
challenge  to  the  youth  with  red  blood  who  stand,  like  noble 
knights  of  the  Round  Table,  ready  for  any  "quest^'? 

"The  fervor  of  the  old  Crusaders  is  needed  now  and  in  a 
grander  cause  —  not  to  rescue  from  the  Saracen  the  sepulchre 


THE  CHALLENGE  9 

in  which  our  Lord  was  supposed  to  have  lain,  but  to  rescue 
from  poverty  and  suffering  and  social  misery  the  people  for 
whom  the  Lord  died/'  ^ 

Let  us  look  at  the  fields.  The  time  is  ripe  for  a  mighty 
advance  if  we  are  of  the  right  mettle.  We  will  take  a  few 
specific  cases  and  seek  to  discover  conditions  as  they  are,  and 
by  implication,  as  they  ought  to  be.  The  contrast  between 
the  '^are"  and  the  '^ ought  to  be''  is  an  irresistible  challenge 
to  everyone  who  believes  in  God  and  Humanity  and  who 
wants  to  make  the  best  investment  of  his  or  her  life. 

The  most  precious  thing  in  the  world  is  the  little  child. 
''We  love  these  little  people,"  said  the  immortal  Dickens, 
"and  it  is  not  a  sHght  thing  when  they,  so  fresh  from  the  hand 
of  God,  love  us."  Jesus  taught,  by  word  and  act,  their 
inestimable  worth.  Every  one  is  born  in  the  image  of  God, 
and  is  loved  by  Him.  Yet  the  number  of  deaths  in  the  first 
year  of  life  and  the  first  five  years  is  appalling.  About  one- 
quarter  of  all  deaths  are  infants  under  one  year;  and  one- 
third  are  under  five  years  of  age.  Medical  authorities  agree 
that  a  large  number  of  these,  fully  one-half,  are  preventable 
under  proper  social  conditions.  Britain  has  reduced  the 
death  rate  of  children  five  years  of  age  and  under  by  one-half 
since  the  War  began.  This  is  a  marvelous  triumph  for  a 
nation  in  the  throes  of  a  supreme  struggle.  It  also  is  a  terrible 
indictment  of  other  nations  and  of  all  nations  in  the  past.  If 
anyone  were  seen  abusing  or  killing  one  child  he  would  be 
lynched.  Yet  we  are  too  often  unconcerned  at  this  wholesale 
destruction  of  little  children.  As  Germany's  ruthless  slaying 
of  children  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  civilized  world,  so 
must  there  be  a  great  moral  and  spiritual  uprising  against 
everything  that  injures  little  ones. 

Some  of  the  causes  of  the  death  of  children  are: 

1.  Lack  of  proper  and  sufficient  food.  We  do  not  know 
what  it  is  to  be  hungry,  but  hundreds  of  little  children  are 


Watson,  "Social  Problems  and  the  Church's  Duty,"  p.  132. 


10      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

starving.  Lack  of  proper  nourishment  weakens  the  con- 
stitution and  renders  the  child  Hable  to  contract  any  disease 
to  which  he  is  exposed  —  such  as  measles,  whooping-cough, 
convulsions,  and  pneumonia  —  and  these  diseases,  which  are 
seldom  fatal  to  well-fed  children,  sweep  off  the  starved  little 
ones  by  the  hundred.  It  is  estimated  that  2,000,000  children 
in  the  United  States  are,  through  poverty,  denied  the  conmaon 
necessities  of  Hfe! 

2.  Impure  food.  Milk  is  the  staple  for  children.  Many 
cities  had  the  experience  of  Rochester.  It  introduced  munici- 
pal '^  clean  milk'^  in  1896.  In  eight  years  the  number  of 
deaths  of  children  under  five  was  reduced  50  per  cent. 

Further,  how  many  deaths  are  caused  by  the  exposure  of 
food  to  dust  and  flies  by  fruit,  grocery,  and  provision  stores? 
Yet  in  many  towns  and  cities  such  exposure  is  not  prevented 
either  by  law  or  pubKc  opinion. 

3.  Bad  housing.  Did  you  ever  see  the  dark  rooms,  the 
unsanitary  houses,  the  unspeakable  conditions  in  which  some 
people  live  —  even  in  your  own  town?  Land  speculation, 
greed,  and  lack  of  an  aroused  pubHc  conscience  are  among  the 
causes  of  this  moral  iniquity.  Perhaps  too  little  attention 
has  been  given  to  rural  conditions.  Is  it  safe  to  assume  that 
housing  conditions  are  always  good  in  the  country? 

4.  Ignorance  on  the  part  of  parents.  Many  mothers  have 
no  training  in  the  care  of  children.  The  schools  in  the  past 
have  given  none.  Spargo  tells  of  a  seven  weeks*  old  baby  in 
a  city  in  the  United  States  fed  on  sausage  and  pickles,  and  an 
eight  weeks*  old  child  fed  on  sardines  and  vinegar,  black 
pudding  and  whisky.  It  is  well  known  that  the  greatest 
difficulty  of  the  pubhc  school  and  Sunday  school  is  the  igno- 
rance and  indifference  of  the  home. 

5.  Preventable  diseases.  Disease  has  no  divine  right  to 
exist.  Every  disease  weakens  and  makes  more  liable  to  other 
sickness.  In  the  prevention  of  disease  we  must  carefully  look 
into  such  matters  as  the  following:  Are  quarantine  laws 
strictly  observed?    Are  streets  and  yards  clean?    Is  the 


THE  CHALLENGE  11 

water  good?  Are  children  given  proper  medical  treatment 
before  as  well  as  after  they  get  sick?  A  little  lad  in  school 
examined  by  the  school  doctor  showed  symptoms  of  spinal 
trouble.  If  developed,  it  would  pain  and  handicap  him  all 
his  life.  The  doctor  kindly  pointed  this  out  and  told  him 
how  to  treat  himself  and  what  exercises  to  take.  The  lad 
eagerly  followed  his  suggestions.  After  some  months  practi- 
cally every  trace  of  the  trouble  was  gone.  Can  we  estimate 
the  value  of  that  one  result  of  school  medical  inspection? 
Yet  over  seventy  per  cent  of  our  school  children  need  medical 
or  dental  care  and  many  will  suffer  all  their  lives  if  neglected 
now. 

What  can  we  say  about  the  untold  number  of  children 
cursed  from  birth  by  inheriting  the  poison  of  the  "deadliest 
of  all  diseases,"  syphilis,  and  other  venereal  diseases? 

While  undeveloped  bodies  make  a  touching  appeal,  un- 
developed minds  make  an  even  stronger  one.  Practically 
every  community  has  a  number  of  defective  children.  Are 
they  being  properly  educated  and  trained  ?  Or  are  we  adding 
to  the  burden  placed  on  them  from  their  birth  —  which  is 
heavy  enough,  God  knows  —  the  neglect,  instead  of  the  nur- 
ture and  training,  of  what  little  they  have?  We  should  count 
up  the  cases  or  find  out  the  number  from  other  investigators 
and  see  what  is  being  attempted  on  their  behalf  in  our  own 
community.  Defective  fathers  and  mothers  always  have 
defective  children.  This  fact  must  be  faced  and  also  its 
bearing  on  the  treatment  of  defective  adults  and  on  the 
future. 

But  apart  from  the  backward  and  subnormal  children, 
have  we  ever  figured  out  how  many  children  in  our  community 
receive  even  the  common  school  education?  If  we  get  down 
to  facts  and  figures  it  may  surprise  many  to  find  what  a  small 
per  cent  complete  the  common  school  course.  The  story  that 
all  of  our  boys  and  girls  get  a  common  school  education  is  a 
myth.  But  education  means  the  enriching  of  life,  as  is  plainly 
seen  when  we  contrast  the  person  whose  mind  has  been  culti- 


12      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

vated  and  stored  with  the  treasures  of  the  past  and  present 
and  the  one  who  has  not  been  so  enriched.  Every  pupil  who 
leaves  the  public  school  with  undeveloped  mind  has  been 
grievously  sinned  against.  Every  citizen  who  has  not  been 
trained  intellectually  and  is  not  fitted  to  do  some  necessary 
work  in  society  is  cheated  out  of  his  rights.  In  so  far  as  he  is 
ignorant  and  unskilful,  he  is  a  weakness  to  his  country  and  to 
society.  To  see  the  reasonableness  of  this,  one  has  but  to 
think  of  persons  who  have  always  labored  under  one  or  both 
of  these  handicaps.  Formerly  even  a  rudimentary  education 
was  the  monopoly  of  the  rich.  Then  the  State  made  it 
possible  for  all.  The  question  now  arises,  Should  not  every 
child  who  shows  talent  in  any  special  line  —  such  as  music,  art, 
electricity,  agriculture  —  have  full  opportunity  for  develop- 
ment? Should  not  the  State  make  this  possible,  as  it  has  put 
elementary  education  within  the  reach  of  all?  The  State 
and  society  would  be  repaid  for  this  expenditure  by  the 
development  of  even  one  or  two  persons  of  talent  and  genius. 

When  we  consider  the  present  state  of  education  and  all 
the  possibilities  that  open  up  before  a  person  or  a  nation  if 
properly  developed,  the  securing  of  a  real  education  for  all 
and  the  opening  of  every  avenue  to  all  is  surely  a  cause  worth 
living  for. 

Undeveloped  social  life  also  makes  its  appeal  to  us.  In 
recent  years  it  has  been  borne  in  upon  the  conscience  of  people 
that  very  many  children  and  young  people  in  the  country  as 
well  as  in  the  city  have  little  or  no  play  life,  no  leisure,  no 
books,  httle  beauty  of  surroundings  or  companionship  —  the 
things  that  make  life  rich  and  livable.  Take  one  httle  inci- 
dent from  the  Juvenile  Court  in  a  prairie  city,  where  of  all 
places  land  is  most  abundant.  Two  little  lads  were  charged 
with  steahng  bulbs  out  of  flower  beds.  The  judge  was  a  real 
lover  of  children.  He  got  the  confidence  of  the  boys.  They 
said  they  wanted  to  have  a  little  garden,  too,  like  other 
children.  They  took  him  to  see  theirs.  All  they  had  was 
about  a  yard  square  of  tramped  earth  and  ashes  in  an  un- 


THE  CHALLENGE  13 

sightly,  miserable  backyard  with  practically  no  sunhght. 
This  they  had  dug  up  and  planted  with  bulbs  they  could  not 
buy.  Should  they  have  been  commended  or  punished? 
What  was  the  real  crime?  Who  were  the  real  criminals? 
Yet  how  many  good  citizens  would  be  shocked  if  told  they 
were  parties  to  this  crime  against  childhood? 

Then,  again,  we  are  appalled  when  we  ask  how  many 
children  are  not  being  taught  about  the  loving  Father  and 
Jesus  who  loves  them.  How  many  are  growing  up  without 
fellowship  with  God?  In  Canada  it  is  estimated  (1916) 
that  there  are  about  300,000  Protestant  children  under 
twenty  years  of  age,  who  are  not  even  enrolled  in  any  Sunday 
school  and  therefore  presumably  are  getting  no  direct  rehgious 
education.  In  the  United  States  the  number  is  estimated  to 
be  considerably  over  3,500,000.  Besides,  much  of  the  teach- 
ing of  those  receiving  instruction  in  religion  is  inadequate, 
some  of  it  misleading.  No  greater  need  exists  today,  none 
makes  a  more  convincing  appeal  to  young  men  and  women, 
than  the  rehgious  nurture  and  training  of  every  person  for 
the  welfare  of  the  world  and  the  extension  of  Christ's  King- 
dom. 

Here  are  some  of  the  rights  of  the  children: 

1.  To  be  well  born.  One  of  the  vices  of  this  age  is  an 
unwillingness  to  assume  the  responsibilities  of  parenthood. 
Race  suicide  is  a  significant  spiritual  perversion  and  decline. 
There  is  also  a  lack  of  the  sense  of  the  sacredness  of  parent- 
hood and  childhood  on  the  part  of  parents.  Then,  again, 
should  persons  who  have  hereditary  diseases  or  who  are 
defectives  be  allowed  to  marry  ? 

2.  To  Hve.  This  imphes  decent  housing,  nourishing  food, 
wholesome  surroundings,  good  mothering  —  ''The  inalien- 
able right  to  a  mother's  care  which  thousands  lack."  The 
above  necessitate  a  living  wage  and  proper  hours  of  work. 

3.  To  be  protected.  "Existence  is  to  hundreds  of  children 
a  veritable  hell." 

4.  To  play.    This  is  another  inalienable  right.    For  this 


14      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

there  must  be  proper  rooms,  yards,  playgrounds,  and  freedom 
from  work. 

5.  To  have  a  sound  education. 

6.  To  know  the  loving  Father  and  have  fellowship  with 
Him.    These  are  the  rights  of  every  child. 

Some  will  say,  "A  program  like  that  will  cost  too  much." 
But,  putting  the  appeal  in  its  lowest  terms,  it  costs  more, 
infinitely  more,  to  neglect  it.  This  is  strikingly  brought  out 
in  Charlotte  Perkins  Oilman's  poem: 

To  THE  Wise  —  A  Bargain 

"  Said  the  Slum  cluld  to  the  Wise  — 
To  the  people  of  place  and  power 
Who  govern  and  guide  the  hour. 
To  this  people  who  write  and  teach, 
Ruling  our  thought  and  speech. 
And  all  the  Captains  and  Kings 
Who  command  the  making  of  things:  — 
'Give  me  the  good  ye  know. 

That  I,  the  Child,  may  grow. 

Light,  for  the  whole  day  long. 

Food  that  is  pure  and  strong. 

Housing  and  clothing  fair. 

Clean  water  and  clean  air. 

Teaching  from  day  to  day. 

And  room  —  for  a  child  to  play.' 

Then  the  Wise  made  answer  cold: 
'These  things  are  not  given,  but  sold. 
They  shall  be  yours  today 
If  you  can  pay.' 

'Pay,'  said  the  Child,  'Pay  you? 

What  can  I  do? 
'  Only  in  years  slow  length 

Shall  I  have  strength. 

I  have  not  power  nor  skill. 

Wisdom  or  wit,  nor  will  — 

What  service  weak  and  wild 

Can  you  seek  of  a  Httle  child  ? ' 


THE  CHALLENGE  ,  16 

But  the  Wise  made  answer  bold: 
'Goods  must  be  bought  and  sold; 

You  shall  have  nothing  here 

Without  paying  —  paying  dear.' 
And  the  Rulers  turned  away, 
And  the  Child  cried  on  then,  'Stay, 
Wait,  I  will  pay/ 

Tor  the  foulness  where  I  live, 
Filth  in  return  I  give. 
For  the  greed  that  withholds  my  right, 
Greed  that  shall  shake  your  might. 
For  the  sin  I  live  in  and  learn. 
Plentiful  sin  I  return. 
For  my  lack  in  home  and  school. 
Ignorance  comes  to  rule. 
From  where  I  sicken  and  die. 
Disease  in  your  homes  shall  lie. 
My  all  uncoimted  death 
Shall  choke  your  children's  breath. 
Degenerate,  crippled  —  base  — 
I  degrade  the  human  race; 
And  the  people  you  have  made  — 
These  shall  make  you  afraid. 

'I  ask  no  more,  I  take 
The  terms  you  make; 
.  And  steadily,  day  by  day, 
I  will  pay.'  " 

Something  is  being  done  for  the  promotion  of  child  welfare 
almost  everywhere.  The  student  should  make  a  list  of  all 
the  agencies  at  work  along  these  lines  in  his  own  commimity. 
When  the  list  is  completed  it  would  be  most  suggestive  to 
write  down  ways  in  which  students  in  every  walk  of  life 
—  medicine,  agriculture,  household  science,  law,  theology, 
engineering  —  might  be  of  most  help. 

When  one  considers  what  yet  remains  to  be  done  in  this  one 
field  the  task  is  big  enough  and  sufficiently  worth  while  to 


16      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

claim  the  allegiance  of  every  young  man  and  young  woman  of 
high  ideals.  One  cannot  conceive  of  any  richer  investment 
of  one's  life  than  to  throw  it  into  the  struggle  for  the  saving 
of  children,  and  making  conditions  such  that  thousands  of 
lives  may  be  saved,  bodies  well  developed,  and  minds  and 
lives  enriched  through  education,  through  service  with  and 
for  others,  and  through  fellowship  with  God  in  Jesus  Christ. 

The  fields  are  white  already  to  harvest. 

So  far  we  have  been  thinking  chiefly  of  the  children.  All 
life  is  sacred.  And  yet  ''It  is  estimated  that  among 
10,000,000  persons  of  the  well-to-do  class  the  annual  deaths 
do  not  exceed  100,000;  among  the  best  paid  of  the  working 
class  the  number  is  not  less  than  150,000;  while  among  the 
poorest  workers  the  number  is  at  least  350,000.''  ^  That  is, 
the  death  rate  among  the  poor  in  congested  parts  of  cities  is 
two  or  three  times  as  high  as  in  the  districts  where  the  well- 
to-do  live.  Should  it  be  so  among  the  children  of  God? 
Who  is  responsible  when  it  is  tracked  down  beyond  the  land- 
lord and  employer? 

This  raises  the  whole  question  of  wealth  and  poverty. 

When  the  magnificent  Vancouver  Hotel  in  Vancouver, 
B.  C,  was  opened,  the  first  meal  given  was  a  free  full  course 
dinner  to  all  the  ''worthy  poor"  women  and  children  in  the 
city.  Every  case  was  carefully  investigated  by  the  King's 
Daughters.  The  aim  was  to  give  tickets  only  to  those  who 
otherwise  would  have  no  real  Christmas  dinner.*  No  doubt 
a  few  got  in  who  could  have  had  a  good  dinner  of  their  own, 
but  only  a  very  few.  On  the  other  hand  many  of  the  needy 
ones  would  be  too  proud  to  accept  "charity."  About  1,500 
crowded  the  great  dining  hall.  This  was  a  magnificent  act 
on  the  part  of  the  hotel  management  and  they  deserve  great 
credit  for  it. 

But  here  is  the  thought  which  rankles  and  the  question  that 
will   not   down.     Why   were   there    1,500   "worthy   poor'.' 


2  John  Spargo,  "The  Bitter  Cry  of  the  Children,"  p.  6. 


THE  CHALLENGE  17 

women  and  children  in  a  prosperous  Canadian  city  —  so 
poor  that  even  at  Christmas  time  they  could  h^ve  no  Christ- 
mas dinner?  And  conditions  in  this  respect  are  much  worse 
in  the  great  cities  of  the  United  States. 

Why  should  wealth  be  in  the  hands  of  the  few?  How  are 
fortunes  made?  Most  have  been  made  by  the  rise  of  real 
estate  values,  ownership  of  natural  resources,  monopoly  of 
some  pubUc  utility  such  as  transportation  or  gas,  or  of  some 
necessary  commodity  such  as  food,  clothing,  and  fuel,  *'poH- 
tics,''  ^^ promotion'^  of  companies,  or  '^manipulation"  of 
markets,  and  the  fortune  is  often  associated  with  methods 
that  are  not  moral  and  with  character  devoid  of  high  ideals 
or  a  quickened  conscience.  Notice  how  few  make  wealth 
through  great  service.  Why  should  one  per  cent  of  the 
people  enjoy  without  working  as  much  income  as  fifty  per 
cent  earn  by  hard  labor? 

There  is  crying  need  for  a  better  system  of  land  control  in 
cities.  At  present  the  lay-out  and  growth  of  cities;  the  type 
of  dwelling;  the  size  of  the  lots;  and  the  price  is  largely  under 
the  control  of  the  real  estate  agent.  In  a  small  western  town 
just  one-sixth  of  the  town-site  that  has  been  subdivided  and 
sold  is  at  all  occupied.  The  area  of  Edmonton  when  it  had 
50,000  people  was  seven  square  miles  larger  than  Toronto  when 
it  had  over  500,000.  Many  have  been  ruined  through  land 
speculation  and  exploitation  and  it  is  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  slum  conditions.  Should  not  society  control  its  land,  use 
it  for  the  good  of  all,  plan  the  town  so  as  to  make  it  health- 
ful and  beautiful,  and  make  suitable  dwellings  and  surround- 
ings possible  for  all  its  citizens?  During  recent  years  en- 
lightened public  opinion  has  done  much.  A  number  of 
agencies  are  at  work.    Now  for  the  real  drive. 

In  recent  years,  progress  has  been  made  in  pure  food  laws 
and  in  preventive  medicine.  Note,  for  example,  the  improve- 
ment of  municipal  water  supply  over  the  old  system  of  in- 
dividual wells;  the  advantages  of  a  good  milk  standard,  of 
clean  streets,  sewers,  and  better  sanitation.    The  value  and 


18      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

economy  of  this  work  is  revealed  in  the  freedom  we  enjoy 
from  the  periodic  plagues  of  ancient  cities  and  of  places  in 
non-Christian  lands  today.  The  Spanish  influenza  epidemic 
would  in  other  days  or  in  non-Christian  lands  have  been  a 
veritable  "Black  Death"  plague.  Emphasis  is  gradually 
being  placed  on  prevention  of  causes  rather  than  on  the  cure 
of  cases.  But  little  more  than  a  good  beginning  has  been 
made,  as  is  manifested,  for  example,  by  the  ravages  of  tuber- 
culosis and  the  carelessness  of  many  citizens  in  regard  to  its 
spread.  Professor  Irving  Fisher  of  Yale  estimates  that  there 
are  3,000,000  persons  in  the  United  States  suffering  from  some 
kind  of  sickness.  The  resulting  loss  of  wages  is  about 
$550,000,000  and  the  expense  of  medicine,  medical  attend- 
ance, and  extra  food  an  equal  amount,  bringing  the  cost  of 
illness  up  to  $1,100,000,000,  at  least  half  of  which  is  prevent- 
able. Adding  the  loss  from  preventable  death,  which  is 
estimated  at  $1,100,000,000,  it  makes  a  total  of  $1,650,000,000 
that  ought  to  be  saved.  Canada's  loss  through  preventable 
sickness  and  death  would  be  about  one-twelfth  of  thi^  or 
$137,500,000  annually.  This  is  merely  the  money  side.  No 
one  can  estimate  what  it  means  in  anguish  and  sorrow, 
broken  homes,  and  orphaned  children. 

Take  this  case.  A  carpenter  and  his  wife  in  Toronto  were 
hard-working,  honest  people.  They  had  a  large  family.  By 
careful  saving  they  had  laid  by  $200  or  $300.  The  first  two 
years  of  the  War  there  was  httle  carpenter  work  to  be  had. 
The  wife  got  sick,  the  doctor  ordered  her  to  take  a  complete 
rest,  then  to  go  to  the  hospital  and  have  an  operation.  Hus- 
band and  wife  knew  she  should  do  all  this  if  she  was  to  regain 
health.  But  it  would  take  all  the  earnings  of  their  lifetime. 
And  the  children  were  to  be  thought  of  first.  Together  they 
kept  on  as  best  they  could  without  the  medical  attention. 
Her  life  will  be  shortened  and  full  of  pain.  This  is  only  one 
and  a  mild  example  of  what  is  going  on  everywhere  with 
children  and  adults.  Only  by  pleading  that  they  were 
paupers  could  they  get  free  medical  treatment.    The  same 


THE  CHALLENGE  19 

condition  prevails  in  practically  every  place  in  Canada  and 
the  United  States.  Great  Britain  is  making  health,  like 
school  education,  a  first  charge  on  the  State.  The  idea  is 
that  none  should  be  deterred  from  obtaining  the  best  medical 
treatment  on  the  score  of  cost,  but  should  be  a  community 
charge,  as  is  the  case  in  the  best  family  life.  The  province  of 
New  Brunswick  has  appointed  a  Minister  of  Pubhc  Health 
with  full  cabinet  rank  and  large  powers.  These  are  signs  of 
a  better  day.  The  present  system  places  upon  the  sick  and 
poor  the  added  burden  of  heavy  doctors'  bills.  It  also  leads 
to  neglecting  symptoms  and  to  the  use  of  patent  medicines 
because  of  the  cost  of  seeing  a  doctor.  To  the  annual  cost 
of  preventable  diseases  and  deaths  (which  as  stated  is 
$1,650,000,000  in  the  United  States  and  $137,500,000  in 
Canada)  must  be  added  that  of  patent  medicines  on  which 
alone  the  two  countries  are  said  to  spend  $200,000,000  annu- 
ally. What  would  it  mean  if  even  one-tenth  of  this  were 
spent  on  prevention  and  education  in  addition  to  what  is 
being  done! 

There  is  similar  need  in  regard  to  law.  If  justice  is  the 
end,  why  should  money  have  every  advantage  of  legal  talent 
and  court  appeal?  It  is  not  difficult  to  cite  instances,  where, 
in  spite  of  judgment  after  judgment,  money  has  defeated 
justice  or  where  the  innocent  and  needy  have  been  cheated 
out  of  their  all  because  left  to  the  mercy  of  unscrupulous  law- 
yers and  trustees. 

The  modern  orphanage  is  a  very  different  institution  from 
that  of  Dickens'  time.  But  is  our  policy  right?  If  a  family 
is  poor,  the  mother  has  to  go  out  day  after  day  to  work. 
Notice  the  results:  children  left  to  themselves  without  a 
mother's  care;  mother  overworked  and  under-fed;  children 
without  proper  food,  clothes,  care,  or  training.  In  this  way 
bodies  suffer,  nerves  suffer,  minds  suffer,  morals  suffer, 
spiritual  life  suffers.  Or  the  children  are  sent  to  an  orphanage. 
However  good,  an  orphanage  is  not  a  home.  Britain,  New 
Zealand,  Australia,  some  of  the  United  States  and  Canadian 


20      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

provinces  have  come  to  the  position  that  every  mother  who 
has  to  go  out  to  work  should  be  paid  a  salary  by  the  State  to 
look  after  her  own  children  and  keep  her  home  intact.  This 
plan  entails  large  expenditure  and  consequently  high  taxes. 
Students  should  study  both  sides  of  the  question  and  know 
the  facts,  in  order  to  give  wise  leadership  when  the  question 
arises  in  the  community  or  nation. 

The  question  of  old  age  must  be  considered.  Old  age  is  a 
nightmare  to  the  honest  poor.  The  President  of  the  American 
Society  for  Thrift  said  that  "according  to  recent  government 
statistics  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the  American  people  are 
living  from  day  to  day  on  their  wages  and  a  loss  of  em- 
ployment would  mean  pauperism  for  all  but  two  per  cent.'' 
That  is,  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the  people  are  dependent 
on  others  when  they  get  too  old  to  work!  Some  coun- 
tries propose  to  provide  an  annuity  for  all  deserving  persons 
who  reach  a  certain  age,  not  as  a  gift  but  as  theirs  by 
right.  They  have  spent  their  lives  in  the  country's  work. 
They  should  get  an  honorable  support.  At  present  a  retiring 
allowance  is  granted  only  to  those  who  hold  high  positions 
and  get  big  salaries,  such  as  judges  and  cabinet  ministers! 
Discuss  the  gain  that  adequate  provision  for  old  age  would 
be  to  human  life  and  happiness. 

Suggestions  for  Study,   Investigation,   and   Practice 

Work 

1.  Read  John  4:  1-42.  Note  how  true  verse  35  is  to  the 
present  situation  and  verses  36-38  to  the  student  class  (38  b). 

2.  Make  a  list  of  the  most  striking  gains  made  in  social 
organization  during  the  War. 

3.  The  class  should,  either  individually  or  in  small  groups, 
make  a  personal  investigation  into  conditions  of  child  life  in 
the  college  or  home  town  or  city.  This  will  include  at  least 
an  examination  of  housing  conditions,  backyards,  and  play- 
grounds in  the  most  congested  districts.  Make  a  list  of  the 
chief  child  welfare  agencies  and  the  work  of  each. 


THE  CHALLENGE  21 

4.  Indicate  graphically  on  a  blank  map  of  the  community 
the  density  of  population  and  the  number  of  deaths  (1)  of 
children,  (2)  of  adults,  in  each  section.  Consult  the  Board 
of  Health. 

5.  By  personal  investigation  find  out  the  number  and  age 
distribution  in  each  grade  in  the  public  school  and  the  grade 
pupils  were  in  on  leaving  school  during  the  last  few  years. 

6.  Demonstrate  the  effect  of  the  present  system  of  land 
control  on  the  growth  of  the  college  or  home  town  and  on  the 
dwelHngs,  building  lots,  parks,  and  playgrounds  of  the  poor. 

7.  By  personal  investigation  ascertain  what  has  been  done 
in  recent  years  to  prevent  disease,  and  estimate  its  success. 
Discuss  the  advisability  of  making  the  care  of  health  and 
providing  for  old  age  a  national  matter.  Find  out  definitely 
what  has  been  done  in  your  own  state  or  province. 

See  Rauschenbusch's  'Christianizing  the  Social  Order." 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  CHALLENGE  (Continued) 

The  problems  confronting  the  present  generation  have  by- 
no  means  been  exhausted.  The  high  cost  of  hving  and  the 
difficulties  of  distribution  clamor  for  investigation.  Take 
the  following  simple  cases:  A  crate  of  fowl  in  the  Fraser 
Valley  before  the  war  cost  $6.25;  expressage  to  Vancouver 
was  thirty-five  cents;  cost  to  consumer  in  Vancouver  $12.15. 
In  1918  farmers  in  Connecticut  received  six  cents  per  quart 
for  milk,  consumers  paid  nineteen  cents.  The  student  can 
supply  similar  cases  from  his  own  experience.  Again,  while 
barrels  of  peaches,  apples,  and  other  fruits  rot  on  the  ground 
in  fruit  districts  the  price  is  maintained  at  scarcity  prices  and 
hundreds  of  famiUes  in  nearby  cities  starve  for  fruit.  Why? 
Several  needs  are  apparent:  elimination  of  excessive  profits 
of  middleman;  cooperation  in  direct  buying  and  selling  be- 
tween producer  and  consumer ;  and  control  of  transportation 
by  the  people  instead  of  by  money-making  corporations. 
Some  persons  must  put  their  Uves  into  the  fight  if  these 
changes  are  to  be  brought  about. 

I  Must  we  not  insist  that  all  who  work  receive  a  living  wage? 
A  minimum  wage,  that  is,  a  wage  below  which  no  one  in 
each  line  of  work  can  be  paid,  is  being  adopted  in  some  places 
especially  in  Britain.  Many  capitalists  oppose  it  bitterly, 
saying  it  will  cripple  industry.  If  a  student  citizen  is  to  help 
his  country  solve  her  problems  he  should  understand  this  im- 
portant, contentious  question.  Girls  in  stores  with  poor 
pay,  hving  miserably,  and  tempted  beyond  their  strength  into 
ways  of  sin;  men  with  families  not  earning  enough  to  provide 
necessities;  men  and  women  in  sweat  shops  working  out  their 

22 


THE  CHALLENGE  23 

lives  for  a  pittance  —  how  can  these  things  be  in  a  Christian 
brotherhood? 

We  are  not  only  our  brother's  keeper  now,  but  we  are  also 
trustees  for  the  future.  To  us  are  committed  the  national  re- 
sources. We  should  exercise  the  same  jealous  care  over  these 
as  we  would  over  property  left  to  orphaned  children  and 
placed  under  our  care.  But  are  we  conserving  or  squander- 
ing them?  Are  they  kept  for  the  people  or  gambled  into  the 
hands  of  the  privileged?  Who  control  the  forest  area,  the 
mineral  deposits  —  the  people  or  a  few  corporations?  Are 
we  conserving  the  soil  or  exhausting  it  by  "wheat  mining''? 

Never  have  ideals  been  so  high  in  some  respects  in  business. 
For  example,  the  slogan  in  the  best  circles  is,  "Tell  only  the 
truth  in  advertising";  and  "He  succeeds  best  who  serves 
best"  has  become  almost  a  religion.  Yet  false  weights  and 
measures  are  constantly  being  confiscated,  adulteration  is  a 
fine  art,  pure  food  and  drug  laws  seek  to  prevent  the  sale  of 
not  only  adulterated  but  positively  harmful  foods  and  medi- 
cines; false  advertising,  such  as  so-called  firesales,  and  manipu- 
lation and  monopoly  for  inflating  prices,  abound.  (For  ex- 
tended references  see  Rauschenbusch,  ' 'Christianizing  the 
Social  Order,"  page  207  et  seq). 

The  Great  War  has  demonstrated  the  heroism  and  self- 
sacrifice  of  the  people  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of 
others.  Thousands  have  given  their  time,  their  money,  their 
lives  —  and  what  was  dearer  to  them  than  life.  It  has  been 
a  time  of  great  and  noble  living.  And  yet  we  stand  appalled 
at  this  stupendous  fact,  that  in  this  very  time  there  were 
other  men  and  women  who  took  advantage  of  the  nations' 
extremity  to  amass  wealth  and  steal  the  bread  from  the  poor 
by  increasing  prices.  It  is  said  that  9,000  persons  became 
millionaires  in  the  United  States  on  war  contracts  during  the 
first  year  or  two  of  the  War.  Mimition  profits  were  often 
excessive.  One  Hamilton,  Ontario,  manufacturer  returned 
$750,000  excess  profits.  Others  making  similar  profits  made 
no  returns  and  were  not  compelled  to  in  the  early  days.    The 


24      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

report  of  the  acting  commissioner  on  the  Cost  of  Living 
C'Cold  Storage  in  Canada,  1917'')  finds,  "Certainly  seemingly- 
excessive  charging/'  One  company  is  said  to  have  made 
eighty  per  cent  profit  on  bacon,  when  the  government  inves- 
tigation said  that  ''a  profit  of  one-quarter  of  one  per  cent  per 
pound''  would  have  netted  over  a  quarter  of  a  million 
dollars.  Following  such  investigations  the  Government  lim- 
ited profits  to,  not  eighty  per  cent  but  eleven  per  cent,  all 
excess  profits  going  to  the  State.  In  the  United  States  a 
similar  firm  is  alleged  to  have  made  over  1,000  per  cent  profit 
and  the  reports  of  investigations  into  war  contracts  have 
been  positively  humiliating,  even  in  such  matters  of  life  and 
death  as  aeroplane  building,  clothing,  and  munitions. 

In  politics  there  are  many  examples  of  the  highest  ideahsm. 
There  is  also  an  ever-growing  public  sensitiveness  to  graft. 
But  in  politics  there  have  been  tragic  happenings.  Christian 
character  alone  can  blot  out  corruption  from  public  life. 

The  power  of  the  saloon  as  a  foe  of  everything  that  is  good 
and  as  a  malignant  force  in  politics  is  being  recognized.  As 
an  example  of  the  extent  of  corruption  to  which  it  stoops, 
take  the  following:  Prohibition  carried  in  British  Columbia 
by  several  thousand  votes.  But  the  soldiers'  votes  in  Eng- 
land and  France  were  overwhelmingly  against  it.  An  in- 
vestigation was  held  and  of  the  less  than  6,000  votes  polled 
4,697  were  thrown  out.  Such  irregularities  as  the  following 
were  brought  to  light:  fifty-nine  previously  killed  and  missing, 
voted;  698  names  appeared  twice  and  fifty-two  three  or  four 
times;  651  were  not  in  France  or  England  at  the  time;  1,266 
cannot  be  traced  at  all  in  Canada;  848  had  no  connection 
with  British  Columbia;  1,125  records  and  details  were  en- 
tirely lacking!  Even  this  is  not  quite  as  bad  as  what  hap- 
pened in  the  United  States  where,  it  is  asserted,  the  brewers, 
uniting  with  the  German-Americans,  the  bitterest,  most 
treacherous  enemies  of  the  nation  at  war,  purchased  at  least 
four  influential  newspapers;  also,  it  is  alleged,  made  use  of 
a  chain  of  papers,  that  have  been  barred  from  Canada  and 


THE  CHALLENGE  25 

many  localities  in  the  United  States;  and  maintained  a  large 
fund  for  lobbjdng. 

Prohibition  is  now  enacted  in  Canada  until  after  the  end 
of  the  War,  in  the  United  States  during  demobilization,  and 
in  Britain  it  is  making  great  gains.  And  now  by  vote  of  an 
overwhelming  majority  of  individual  states,  the  United  States 
has  written  prohibition  into  its  constitution.  Further  steps 
are  necessary,  especially  for  the  protection  of  the  peoples  of 
Asia,  Africa,  and  South  America,  who  will  become  a  prey  to 
the  brewers  when  the  home  market  is  closed.  The  White 
Slave  traffic  and  the  drug  slavery  are  still  entrenched.  The 
dual  standard  of  morality  —  a  lower  one  for  men  than  for 
women  —  maintains  our  connection  with  the  dark  ages.  Men 
and  women  everywhere  are  making  great  mistakes  in  their 
lives,  are  living  useless,  selfish,  harmful,  plague-spreading  lives. 
Sin  is  claiming  its  victims  and  from  its  nemesis  there  is  no 
escape.  There  is  a  call  such  as  was  never  heard  to  all  true 
men  and  women  to  get  into  the  fight,  the  ancient  fight 
of  Right  against  Wrong-  on  behalf  of  God  and  suffering 
humanity. 

*'Once  to  every  man  and  nation  comes  the  moment  to  decide, 
In  the  strife  of  Truth  with  Falsehood,  for  the  good  or  evil 

side; 
Some  great  cause,  God's  new  Messiah,  offering  each  the 

bloom  or  blight. 
Parts  the  goats  upon  the  left  hand,  and  the  sheep  upon  the 

right. 
And  the  choice  goes  by  forever  'twixt  that  darkness  and 

that  hght." 

—  Lowell,  "The  Present  Crisis." 

The  fact  is  that,  while  there  never  were  so  many  Christians, 
so  much  Christian  activity,  and  such  high  ideals,  the  present 
social  order  is  not  Christian.  Instead  of  making  it  easy  to  do 
right,  it  too  often  makes  it  hard  to  do  right.  As  it  is  con- 
stituted in  competitive  business,  the  one  who  can  wring  the 
last  ounce  of  strength  out  of  his  workers,  substitute  children 


26      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

and  women  for  men,  and  cut  wages,  can  outbid  the  one  who 
tries  to  live  up  to  the  highest  moral  ideals.  So  it  is  in  poli- 
tics, and  too  often  in  social  and  professional  life.  In  a  team 
and  in  good  family  life  the  aim  is  to  bring  each  up  to  the 
highest  level;  but  in  the  present  social  order  this  point  of  view 
has  not  yet  become  the  pubhc  conscience. 

So  far  we  have  been  thinking  chiefly  of  the  home  lands  in  a 
world  at  war.  Beyond  is  the  world  of  nations  and  the  coming 
of  peace  has  torn  aside  the  veil  that  has  limited  our  vision. 
These  years  of  war  and  now  of  peace  are  apocalyptic  times. 
Such  visions  as  have  been  given  to  us  were  never  possible  to 
the  greatest  prophets  of  any  other  age. 

In  the  first  place,  after  the  horrible  revelation  of  blood- 
lust,  hatred,  passion,  cruelty,  and  the  breach  of  every  law  of 
humanity  or  Christianity  on  the  part  of  a  powerful  nation, 
there  came  the  vision  of  the  glorious  heroism  of  Belgium 
sacrificing  everything  but  her  soul;  of  the  marvelous  courage 
of  France;  of  the  faith  of  Great  Britain  (including  Canada, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  India,  South  Africa  and  Newfound- 
land) who  without  a  day^s  delay  for  the  sake  of  honor  threw 
all  she  had  into  the  fight,  in  the  historic  words  of  her  premier, 
"for  the  liberty  of  the  world  and  the  independence  of  the 
smaller  peoples";  the  fidelity  of  Japan  and  China  and  the 
service  of  betrayed  Russia  and  Roumania.  Then  there  were 
wonderous  examples  of  highest  idealism  and  courage  in 
Siberia,  Montenegro,  Portugal,  Italy,  Greece,  Armenia, 
Poland,  Czecho-Slovania,  and  among  other  people  of  whom 
we  knew  little;  and  finally  in  the  United  States.  Suddenly 
we  saw  the  wondrous,  unsuspected  nobility  of  human  nature 
of  all  races  of  whatever  color  and  wherever  found  and  the 
strength  of  ideals  and  unmeasured  depths  of  heroism  and  un- 
selfish service. 

The  collapse  of  militarism  by  the  absolute  surrender  of 
Germany  and  her  allies,  of  the  massed  forces  of  materiaUsm 
based  on  expediency,  throwing  morals  and  religion  to  the 
winds,  has  given  a  new  and  stronger  faith  in  the  dominance 


THE  CHALLENGE  27 

of  spiritual  things  and  the  confidence  that  in  the  providence 
of  God  right  must  triumph. 

There  has  come,  too,  a  new  sense  of  brotherhood  among 
the  nations.  All  the  allied  countries  have  shared  food,  medi- 
cal supphes,  clothing,  munitions,  and  resources,  denying 
themselves  that  others  might  have  enough.  They  have 
poured  out  their  treasure  without  stint.  Great  Britain  has 
already  given  her  immense  treasured  gold  reserve  and  liqui- 
dated her  extensive  securities  in  other  countries,  and  given 
billions  to  help  finance  her  allies;  and  of  her  children  nearly 
a  million  he  buried,  some  in  every  one  of  the  fifteen  theaters 
of  war  and  in  all  the  seven  seas.  And  France  (reported  to 
be  only  one-third  as  wealthy  as  the  United  States)  has 
already  given  $24,000,000,000  and  the  lives  of  over  a  mil- 
Hon  of  her  children.  Belgium,  Italy,  Serbia,  and  other 
nations  have  likewise  known  no  limit  in  their  service.  A 
common  endeavor,  the  sharing  of  common  hardships  and 
sacrifices,  the  bitterness  of  defeat,  and  the  joy  of  victory  have 
bound  race  to  race  in  a  new  brotherhood. 

The  effect  on  some  of  the  other  nations  must  be  even 
greater  than  on  us.  For  peoples  in  India  to  cross  "the  black 
water,"  the  ocean,  is  to  break  caste.  Yet  thousands  did  so 
because  of  loyalty  to  the  country  that  had  done  so  much  for 
them  and  had  made  "the  word  of  an  Englishman"  a  synonym 
for  trustworthiness  and  fair  dealing.  In  the  same  way  the 
Holy  War  of  the  Moslems,  proclaimed  by  the  instigation  of 
Germany,  failed.  The  Moslems  of  India  and  Egypt  remained 
loyal.  "As  for  India,  the  home  of  67,000,000  Mohammedans, 
there  was  no  response  save  that  of  sohd  loyalty  to  Great 
Britain.  The  Mohammedan  leaders  of  North  India  pe- 
titioned the  British  Parliament  to  let  Indian  Mohammedans 
go  to  the  defense  of  Egypt."  ^  Besides,  Arabia  has  set  up  an 
independent  Kingdom  of  the  Hedjaz.    These  things  mean 


1  J.  Lovell  Murray,  "The  Call  of  a  World  Task  in  War  Time," 
p.  76. 


28      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

the  dawning  of  a  new  day  to  these  and  other  peoples.  Simi- 
larly, nations  like  Japan  and  China,  that  have  been  watching 
and  weighing  Christianity,  have  seen  that  it  did  not  fail  in 
the  War  but  that  its  ideals  have  triumphed.  And  it  all 
means  that  nations  are  open  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ  as  never 
before.  It  is  almost  staggering  to  think  of  the  opportunities 
in  India,  China,  the  Balkans,  and  among  the  new  nations 
in  Austria  and  Russia!  All  these  peoples  are  looking  to 
the  Christian  nations  for  help  and  for  the  guarantee  of  their 
liberty. 

Just  now  the  need  for  food  and  the  bare  necessities  of  life 
in  devastated  nations  will  strain  the  resources  of  the  Allies.  It 
is  estimated  that  over  four  milHons  died  of  starvation  during 
the  War.  Now  every  individual  must  try  to  save  and  pro- 
duce food  and  other  commodities  that  millions  more  may  be 
kept  from  suffering  and  death.  But  it  is  estimated  that  in 
Asia  and  Africa  over  200,000,000  always  go  to  bed  hungry, 
100,000,000  sleep  without  any  shelter,  and  how  Httle  impres- 
sion this  fact  makes  on  us! 

The  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  war  has  opened  our  eyes  to 
the  necessity  of  preventing  and  healing  wounds  and  diseases 
everywhere.  Never  again  can  the  Christian  world  be  as  in- 
different to  the  millions  of  suffering  ones  all  over  the  world. 
In  India  alone  there  are  said  to  be  400,000  blind,  200,000 
deaf-mutes,  100,000  lepers,  and  5,000,000  preventable  deaths 
a  year.  A  similar  situation  exists  in  other  non-Christian 
lands.  The  torture  inflicted  by  the  savagery  of  German  and 
Turk  scarcely  exceeds  the  suffering  inflicted  by  the  witch- 
doctors in  their  ignorant  treatment  of  disease. 

We  are  touched  by  the  great  numbers  of  orphans  and 
widows  left  by  the  War  in  the  allied  countries.  But,  as 
Lovell  Murray  points  out,  "In  all,  over  2,000,000  Armenians 
and  Syrians  are  homeless  and  destitute  and  of  this  number 
some  400,000  are  orphans.  ...  If  every  married  soldier 
under  arms  (in  the  Greek  War)  were  to  be  killed,  all  the 
widows  that  would  be  left  would  not  suffer  a  tithe  of  what 


THE  CHALLENGE  29 

Indians  26,000,000  widows  are  suffering  now.  We  can  no 
longer  be  indifferent  to  these  suffering  millions.''  ^ 

There  is  also  the  insistent  need  of  rebuilding  the  waste 
places  and  restoring  the  broken  homes  of  the  war  areas.  It 
is  hoped  that  all  young  people  may  have  a  big  share  in  this 
work.  But  it  opens  our  eyes  to  see  the  vastly  greater  need 
of  establishing  something  like  homes  in  non-Christian  lands 
and  of  bringing  to  them  some  share  of  the  blessings  we  enjoy 
in  the  humblest  homes  every  day. 

In  the  home  land,  with  the  dislocation  of  industry  on 
account  of  peace  and  its  necessary  reorganization,  every 
factor  that  makes  for  friction  between  labor  and  capital  is 
present.  The  situation  is  full  of  danger.  What  will  be  the 
gain  if,  having  fought  against  autocracy  in  the  War,  we  allow 
autocracy  and  force  to  rule  in  industry  at  home?  Or  if, 
having  sacrificed  to  maintain  order  in  the  world,  we  find 
that  anarchy  and  Bolshevism  are  running  riot  in  our  own 
land?  A  class  war  is  easily  possible.  To  avoid  the  clash, 
with  all  its  suffering  and  bitterness,  will  require  wise  leader- 
ship and  also  an  intelligent,  brotherly  sympathy  for  others 
on  the  part  of  both  labor  and  capital.  With  people  of  intelli- 
gence and  Christian  character  we  can  go  forward  with  utter 
confidence  and  solve  all  problems.  To  this  desired  end  every 
college  man  and  woman  may  contribute  largely. 

Whatever  makes  for  real  brotherhood  and  mutual  sympathy 
and  understanding  among  different  classes  and  nations  lays 
the  imperishable  foundations  of  that  world  brotherhood 
which  makes  the  league  of  nations  and  international  coopera- 
tion and  good  will  possible. 

It  was  Tennyson  who,  in  his  marvellously  prophetic 
poem,  "  Lockesley  Hall "  first  in  modern  times  visuaHzed 
air  fleets  for  commerce  and  war  and  set  up  in  the  popular 
mind  the  ideal  of  a  world  league: 


2  Ibid,  Chapter  IV. 


30      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

"  For  I  dipt  into  the  future,  far  as  human  eye  could  see, 
Saw  the  Vision  of  the  world,  and  all  the  wonder  that  would  be; 

Saw  the  heavens  fill  with  commerce,  argosies  of  magic  sails. 
Pilots  of  the  purple  twilight,  dropping  down  with  costly 
bales; 

Heard  the  heavens  fill  with  shouting,  and  there  rain'd  a 

ghastly  dew 
From  the  nations'  airy  navies  grappling  in  the  central  blue; 

Far  along  the  world-wide  whisper  of  the  south-wind  rushing 

warm, 
With  the  standards  of  the  peoples  plunging  thro'  the  thunder 

storm; 

Till  the  war-drum  throbb'd  no  longer,  and  the  battle-flags 

were  furFd 
In  the  Parhament  of  man,  the  Federation  of  the  world. 

There  the  common  sense  of  most  shall  hold  a  fretful  realm 

in  awe. 
And  the  kindly  earth  shall  slumber,  lapt  in  imiversal  law." 

Gladstone,  in  1871,  advanced  the  idea  still  further.  The 
Hague  conferences  gave  the  idea  further  embodiment. 
Early  in  the  War  societies  of  most  influential  persons  were 
formed  all  over  Britain  for  promoting  a  world  league.  It 
has  been  espoused  by  the  United  States  and  supported  by 
other  countries.  Its  realization  will  be  one  of  the  great 
gains  of  the  war.  It  can  only  be  a  success  if  children, 
young  people,  and  adults  are  led  out  of  narrow  provincial 
patriotism  into  a  sense  of  world-brotherhood  which  the 
Christian  religion  at  its  best  alone  makes  possible. 

Even  as  late  as  fifty  years  ago  Christianity  was  sharply 
divided  into  denominations.  Between  them  there  was  Httle 
fellowship  and  often  hostility.  That  is  now  largely  a  thing 
of  the  past.  The  closest  cooperation  is  now  a  fact  in  most 
places  between  the  different  branches  of  the  Protestant 
Church  and  in  many  activities  with  the  Roman  CathoHc  and 
Jewish  faiths.     In  Canada  three  leading  denominations  — 


THE  CHALLENGE  31 

Congregationalist,  Methodist,  and  Presbyterian  —  are  com- 
mitted to  organic  union,  while  these,  together  with  the 
Anglican,  Baptist,  and  other  denominations,  the  Salvation 
Army,  the  Sunday  School  Association,  the  Young  Men's  and 
Young  Women's  Christian  Associations,  work  in  the  closest 
harmony  and  fellowship  in  the  promotion  of  religious  educa- 
tion and  social  welfare.  Though  this  movement  is  not  so 
advanced  in  the  United  States,  it  has  begun  and  is  moving 
steadily.  Educated  young  people  today  are  living  in  a 
wonderful  time  and  can  do  a  great  deal  to  forward  the  cause 
of  unity  and  good  will. 

There  must  be  developed  the  Christian  attitude  of  mutual 
benefit  and  good  will.  That  is  not  a  visionary's  dream.  It 
is  already  the  attitude  in  family  life,  in  education,  and  in 
organized  reUgion.  It  is  growing  stronger  in  politics,  in  busi- 
ness, and  in  religion.  It  is  becoming  a  world  consciousness. 
Even  in  imagination  we  can  scarcely  picture  the  change  in 
the  world  when  classes,  nations,  and  peoples  shall  live  to- 
gether on  that  Christian  basis. 

It  is  manifest,  then,  that  into  whatever  life-work  one  may 
enter  or  in  whatever  community  one  may  live,  great  issues 
are  at  stake.  The  call  is  insistent  for  men  and  women  of 
vision  and  character.  Whoever  will  lose  himself  in  the  cause 
of  the  Best  will  find  a  larger  life  in  the  new  civihzation.  We 
are  today  at  the  opening  of  a  new  era.  We  are  not  specta- 
tors. We  are  sharing  in  the  work.  Thank  God  for  the  thrill 
and  joy  of  it. 

*^  It  is  a  great  adventure,  the  building  up  a  civilization  — 
the  noblest  which  could  be  undertaken  by  any  persons.  It 
is  at  once  the  noblest  work  and  the  most  practical  of  all  enter- 
prises, and  I  can  conceive  of  no  greater  exaltation  of  the 
spirit  of  man  than  the  feeling  that  his  race  is  acting  nobly; 
and  that  all  together  are  performing  a  service,  not  only  to  each 
other,  but  to  humanity,  and  those  who  come  after  them,  and 
that  their  deeds  will  be  remembered."  ' 


3  George  W.  Russell,  "The  National  Being." 


32      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

To  every  young  college  man  and  woman  today  comes  this 
challenge.  Every  great  ideal  is  a  challenge  as  is  also  every 
sordid  life,  every  case  of  poverty  —  in  goods,  health,  mind, 
companionship,  and  most  of  all  in  fellowship  with  God.  And 
if  the  need  is  great  in  Christian  lands  what  can  be  said  of  the 
non-Christian  world! 

Are  we  as  ready  to  live  for  others  as  were  the  men  and 
women  who  served  in  the  War,  in  order  that  in  our  country 
liberty  and  love  may  flourish  and  that  we  may  be  worthy  of 
the  sacrifice  of  her  citizens?  They  held  aloft  the  torch  of 
liberty  and  service.  We  must  not  break  faith  with  them. 
The  poem  of  that  gallant  Canadian,  Colonel  John  McCrae, 
"In  Flanders  Fields,"  lives  not  only  because  of  its  beauty  but 
because  it  appeals  to  our  hearts.  Its  message  is  all  the  more 
impressive  when  we  know  that  Colonel  McCrae  has  given 
his  life  for  the  cause  of  humanity  in  Flanders  fields. 

"In  Flanders  fields,  the  poppies  grow 
Between  the  crosses,  row  on  row. 
That  mark  our  place;  and  in  the  sky 
The  larks,  still  bravely  singing,  fly, 
Scarce  heard  amid  the  guns  below. 

"We  are  the  dead.     Short  days  ago 
,  We  lived,  felt  dawn,  saw  sunset  glow, 
Loved  and  were  loved ;  and  now  we  lie 
;  In  Flanders  fields. 

"Take  up  our  quarrel  with  the  foe! 
To  you,  from  failing  hands,  we  throw 
The  torch.     Be  yours  to  hft  it  high! 
If  ye  break  faith  with  us  who  die 
We  shall  not  sleep,  though  poppies  blow 
In  Flanders  fields.'' 


We  shall  keep  faith  by  driving  out  ignorance,  hate,  jealousy, 
greed,  sin  that  separate  classes,  peoples,  and  nations.    The 


THE  CHALLENGE  33 

only  force  that  can  effectively  do  this  is  brotherhood,  love. 
And  for  this  Christ  alone  has  pointed  the  way.  The  glorious 
life  and  sacrificial  death  of  Christ  redeemed  life  from  sordid- 
ness  and  ennobled  it  forever.  The  glorious  dead  ''in  Flanders 
fields'^  and  over  the  whole  world  call  on  us  to  be  true.  To 
squander  life  in  some  narrow,  selfish  pursuit  would  be  a 
stupid  blunder.  Rather  each  will  seek  to  make  life  tell  for 
most  in  the  progress  of  the  race  —  that  is,  to  bring  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God. 


Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation,  and 
Practice  Work 

1.  Read  Luke  10  :  1-16,  30-37.  One  cannot  but  feel  that 
if  Jesus  were  speaking  these  words  today  he  would  include 
students  in  the  highly  favored  class. 

2.  Gather  information  on  the  difference  between  price 
paid  to  producer  and  by  consumer  in  essential  commodities 
and  how  this  difference  might  be  lessened. 

3.  Discuss  the  influence  of  prohibition,  and  the  resulting 
danger  of  the  exploitation  of  non-Christian  lands.  What 
preventive  measures  should  be  taken? 

4.  Discuss  the  new  world  consciousness  and  brotherhood 
and  the  needs  of  the  present  day.  Read  J.  Lovell  Murray^s 
"The  Call  of  a  World  Task,'^  Chapter  IV. 

5.  Enumerate  the  nations  that  need  help  at  the  present 
time  and  the  kind  and  extent  of  assistance  required. 

6.  Through  careful  investigation  and  study  give  actual 
examples  of,  first,  autocracy  and  second.  Bolshevistic  tend- 
encies in  our  own  land.  Make  clear  the  serious  dangers  and 
effective  preventive  measures.  What  relation  has  the  whole 
problem  to  child  weffare,  education,  and  religion? 

7.  Find  out  definitely  the  movements  in  which  the  various 
churches  and  denominations  are  cooperating  and  what  further 
might  be  done  in  this  respect. 


34      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

8.  Honestly  and  prayerfully  each  one  should  answer  the 
question,  Am  I  willing  to  "take  up  the  torch"  thrown  "from 
failing  hands"  and  not  "break  faith"  ?  Am  I  willing  to  dedi- 
cate myself  to  the  unfinished  task?  On  what  condition  can 
I  really  pray,  "Send  forth  naore  laborers"? 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  FORCES  AT  WORK  MAKING  FOR 
IMPROVEMENT 

The  last  chapter  gave  us  a  glimpse  of  what  might  appear 
to  be  the  "world  welter."  Society  is  so  vast  and  complex 
and  the  needs  are  so  great  that  one  may  feel  bewildered,  hope- 
less. Can  our  httle  life  make  any  impression  on  the  mighty 
surge  of  the  life  of  the  world? 

In  this  connection  several  things  are  to  be  considered: 

First,  Society  is  an  organism.  Each  individual  is  an  organ, 
a  "member  in  particular"  to  perform  a  special  function. 
However  insignificant  the  part  may  be,  it  is  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  the  whole.  "If  the  foot  shall  say,  Because  I  am 
not  the  hand,  I  am  not  of  the  body;  is  it  therefore  not  of  the 
body?  .  .  .  And  the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  I  have 
no  need  of  thee.  .  .  .  And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all 
the  members  suffer  with  it;  or  one  member  be  honoured,  all 
the  members  rejoice  with  it"  (I  Cor.  12  :  15,  21,  26). 

Everyone  who  earns  an  honest  living  in  an  honorable  occu- 
pation and  does  some  necessary  work  in  society  to  meet  a 
human  need  is  contributing  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole.  If 
done  in  the  spirit  of  love  and  service,  that  is,  as  work  is  done 
in  the  best  family  circle,  it  is  a  real  contribution  to  the  bring- 
ing in  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  faithful,  efficient  dis- 
charge of  the  day's  work  makes  for  the  happiness  and  success 
of  all. 

A  moment's  reflection  will  show  how  true  this  is.  The 
honest,  upright  dealer  in  food  is  doing  a  wonderful  service 
as  God's  assistant  in  distributing  food  to  His  children.  So 
the  farmer,  gardener,  dairyman,  and  others  provide  them 

35 


36      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

with  food.  The  clothier  helps  Him  clothe  them.  The  doctor, 
nurse,  and  apothecary  help  Him  care  for  His  sick  children. 
The  postman  is  a  public  benefactor,  the  policeman  a  public 
guardian.  The  street  cleaners  keep  away  disease  and  add  to 
the  joy  and  comfort  of  the  people.  The  ditch-digger  makes 
cities  and  dwellings  dry  and  conveniences  possible.  The 
teacher  enriches  and  develops  human  life,  the  home-maker 
is  the  likest  to  God  —  and  so  on.  Every  person  who  is  not  a 
parasite  is  an  organ  of  society  with  a  special  function  to  per- 
form for  the  good  of  society.  If  he  fails,  the  whole  organism 
suffers.  We  know  this  when  the  mailman  fails  to  come  or  is 
late  the  day  we  expect  a  letter;  or  when  the  milkman  isn't 
around  before  breakfast;  or  the  bread  is  sour! 

Here  then  is  the  first  and  fundamental  service,  each  is  called 
on  to  perform:  do  our  own  work  to  the  best  of  our  ability  and 
in  the  spirit  of  love  and  service.  Such  an  example,  in  any 
Hne  of  work,  is  a  powerful  factor  in  bringing  in  the  better 
day. 

And  if  one  does  not  so  do  his  own  work  well  and  in  this 
spirit,  his  influence  in  any  other  line  is  lessened  or  nuUified. 

A  woman  in  New  York  did  a  great  deal  of  lecturing  on  the 
art  of  housekeeping.  Her  own  house  was  a  sorry  example  of 
the  opposite.  A  man  in  Ontario  made  eloquent  pleas  for 
thrift  and  economy  in  war  time,  while  each  one  of  his  children 
had  his  or  her  own  expensive  motor  car!  In  Nova  Scotia  a 
graduate  of  an  agricultural  college  came  back  to  live  on  the 
run-out  farm  his  father  had  left  him.  He  got  a  Farmers' 
Institute  organized,  but  noticed  that  the  farmers  did  not  seem 
to  take  his  suggestions  seriously.  But  in  his  third  year  his 
own  crops  were  better  in  every  way  and  his  stock  as  good  or 
better  than  the  rest  of  the  district.  Estimate  the  influence  of 
these  different  persons  when  these  facts  are  known. 

The  reader  will  do  well  to  make  the  thought  of  Van 
Dyke's  Uttle  poem  entitled  *^  Work"  the  resolve  and  prayer  of 
his  own  heart: 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       37 

"I^et  me  but  do  my  work  from  day  to  day, 
In  field  or  forest,  at  the  desk  or  loom, 
In  roaring  market-place  or  tranquil  room; 

Let  me  but  find  it  in  my  heart  to  say. 

When  vagrant  wishes  beckon  me  astray, 

'This  is  my  work;  my  blessing,  not  my  doom; 
Of  all  who  live,  I  am  the  one  by  whom 

This  work  can  best  be  done  in  the  right  way/ 

Then  shall  I  see  it  not  too  great,  nor  small. 
To  suit  my  spirit  and  to  prove  my  powers; 
Then  shall  I  cheerful  greet  the  labouring  hours, 

And  cheerful  turn,  when  the  long  shadows  fall 

At  eventide,  to  play  and  love  and  rest. 

Because  I  know  for  me  my  work  is  best." 


The  second  thing  to  be  remembered  is  this:  that  there  are 
many  mighty  forces  in  every  community  that  are  making  for 
better  conditions  and  higher  ideals  or  may  be  directed  in  that 
way.  It  is  only  in  moments  of  despondency  or  weakness  or 
because  of  lack  of  thought  and  perception  that  we  feel  that 
for  this  great  work  ^'I  even  I  only  am  left "  (I  Kings  19  :  14). 
There  are  many  mighty  upbuilding  forces  at  work.  The 
student  should  make  a  careful  survey  of  these  forces  and  then 
relate  himself  to  them  in  the  most  helpful  way  possible. 
This  is  essential  if  each  is  going  to  make  the  best  possible 
investment  of  his  life  in  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 
Recognizing  that  to  be  a  negative  or  mere  neutral  quantity 
is  to  throw  one's  better  self  away,  that  to  stand  alone  is  to 
court  failure,  make  out  a  list  of  the  more  outstanding  forces 
and  agencies  to  be  found  in  the  community  to  which  you  are 
going,  or  from  which  you  come,  and  make  a  brief  note  as  to 
how  you  or  any  other  college  student  may  support  and  co- 
operate with  each  one  of  these  forces. 

Community  agencies  and  forces  will,  of  course,  differ  in 
the  city,  town,  or  country,  and  also  in  different  communities. 
But  in  every  center  will  be  found  forces  which  may  be  classed 


38      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

under  the  following  heads:  education,  social  conditions,  in- 
dustry, recreation,  government,  and  religion. 

But  it  must  be  distinctly  understood  that  these  divisions 
are  artificial  and  merely  for  convenience.  For  anything  that 
is  really  educational  is  a  strength  to  social  living,  industry, 
recreation,  and  rehgion.  Good  recreation  is  also  educational, 
social,  and  a  help  to  industry  and  religion.  Anything  that 
helps  persons  to  Uve  their  best  lives  and  makes  conditions  of 
living  better  is  reUgious.  Everything  that  promotes  true 
reUgion  makes  for  better  recreation,  industry,  and  social 
conditions  and  is  educational.  It  may  be  that  you  would 
make  a  different  classification  from  that  here  suggested,  but 
the  essential  thing  is  to  recognize  every  community  force,  to 
see  its  value,  and  to  support  and  cooperate  with  it.  In  order 
to  help  us  appreciate  the  fine  work  that  is  being  done  and  the 
consecrated  endeavor  of  multitudes  of  citizens  to  improve 
the  social  order  and  to  develop  human  life,  let  us  examine 
some  of  the  work  that  is  being  done  under  the  headings  given 
above.  The  discussion  of  a  few  representative  movements 
should  help  the  student  to  appreciate  every  endeavor  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare.  It  is  always  illuminating  to  find 
that  there  are  others  who  cherish  some  of  the  ideals  we  our- 
selves cherish.  And  in  almost  every  community  there  are  those 
who  for  years  have  worked  for  some  reform.  They  need  your 
help  and  encouragement  as  you  need  theirs.  Jot  down,  defi- 
nitely, as  you  go  along,  how  a  doctor,  teacher,  agricultural 
representative,  minister,  business  man  or  woman,  and  others 
could  work  through  each  of  these  agencies. 

1.  Education. 

"I  tell  you  in  a  word,  that  a  diligent,  devoted  school 
teacher,  preceptor,  or  any  person,  no  matter  what  is  his 
title,  who  faithfully  trains  and  teaches  boys,  can  never 
receive  an  adequate  reward  and  no  money  is  sufficient  to 
pay  the  debt  you  owe  him;  so,  too,  said  the  pagan,  Aris- 
totle." —  Luther. 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       39 

When  girls  as  well  as  boys  are  included,  this  statement 
is  as  true  today  as  it  was  when  spoken  nearly  400  years 
ago.  The  school  is  a  mighty  national  force  in  upbuilding 
human  life,  in  unifying  different  elements  in  the  population, 
and  in  making  citizens  of  non-Enghsh  speaking  people. 
It  would  be  well  to  discuss  here  the  value  of  really  national 
schools  over  any  narrower  system,  such  as  parochial  and 
private  schools.  This  is  a  vital  question  in  some  places  now 
and  we  should  be  clear  in  our  thinking  about  it.  The  future 
of  our  country  and  of  the  world  depends  largely  on  the  school. 
And  daily  the  school  is  becoming  a  more  efficient  social  force. 
Great  strides  are  being  made,  the  most  outstanding,  perhaps, 
being  the  Fellowship  School  in  Great  Britain.  How  can  we 
cooperate  with  the  school  and  lead  the  community  to  appre- 
ciate it?  Show  how  the  attitude  of  the  district  is  reflected 
in  the  school  building,  the  care  of  the  building,  rooms,  and 
grounds;  in  the  supphes;  in  the  character  of  the  teachers;  in 
the  support  and  encouragement  given;  and,  as  a  result,  the 
attitude  of  the  pupils  to  hfe  and  the  influence  of  the  school  for 
good.  How  can  the  teacher  work  through  her  school  to  serve 
the  community?  Remember  teaching  is  enriching  life. 
Much  of  the  opportunity  for  this  real  education  is  outside  the 
textbooks  and  even  outside  of  school  hours.  What  can  the 
doctor,  lawyer,  or  other  college  graduates  do  to  stimulate  a 
strong  public  sentiment  in  support  of  the  school  and  education 
and  progress,  bringing  the  local  school  up  to  the  highest  state 
of  popular  favor  and  efficiency? 

Take  three  examples  of  the  pubHc  schooFs  influence,  in 
addition  to  regular  school  work.  The  first  is  in  "the  ward," 
Toronto.  The  little  children  on  the  streets  are  ragged,  dirty, 
untrained.  But  in  the  school  each  pupil  —  all  from  the  same 
community  —  is  a  model  of  cleanliness  in  person,  school 
habits,  and  clothes,  including  even  shoes,  and  of  thoughtful 
courtesy.  The  lady  principal  and  the  teachers  are  justly 
proud  of  their  pupils  and  of  the  place  the  school  has  as  a 
mighty  community  force  for  good.    The  pupils  share  this 


40      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

laudable  pride.  Thinking  of  the  future  of  the  world,  one 
must  thank  God  for  such  schools  —  and  they  are  legion.  The 
next  is  on  the  lone  prairie.  There  was  only  a  mere  handful 
of  timid  children.  The  teacher  had  the  idea  that  schools 
were  for  more  than  grind  and  drill.  He  took  his  cornet  and 
he  and  his  pupils  learned  new  songs  together.  With  his 
camera  he  helped  them  see  some  of  the  beauties  of  nature. 
He  played  with  them  and  taught  them  new  games.  A  few 
delightful  children's  books  were  brought  into  the  school, 
which  pupils  could  read  as  soon  as  they  were  through  their 
work.  life  became  fuller  and  richer  for  these  children. 
Pride  was  taken  in  keeping  the  yard  clean,  the  men  of  the  dis- 
trict painted  the  building,  the  women  decorated  the  interior. 
There  arose  a  new  social  consciousness  and  a  new  spirit  of 
service  and  mutual  helpfulness.  The  third  school  is  in  a 
western  town.  Nine  nationalities  are  represented,  but  all  are 
learning  to  read  and  write  the  English  language,  to  salute, 
honor,  and  love  the  flag,  and  are  having  developed  in  them 
the  best  ideals  of  Christian  citizenship.  In  school  and  on  the 
playground  they  are  imbibing  the  principles  of  democracy. 
They  resent  being  called  foreigners. 

Similar  results  are  being  attained  in  many  kindergartens, 
high  schools,  colleges,  technical  schools,  and  universities. 
Every  student  and  graduate  should  be  able  to  do  much  in 
the  community  to  strengthen  each  of  these  institutions. 
He  may  also  be  able  to  promote  night  schools,  schools  for 
foreigners,  trade  schools,  and  household  science  schools.  It 
is  far  less  expensive  to  maintain  schools  than  to  allow  people 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  country's  language  and  institutions  or 
without  skill  to  do  useful  work.  Discussion  should  bring 
out  whether  the  person  who  is  especially  interested  in  child 
welfare,  crime,  charity  work,  better  farming,  votes  for 
women,  purity  in  politics,  social  reform,  moral  character, 
or  any  progressive  movement  should  ally  himself  with  the 
public  school  or  other  educational  institutions. 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       41 

J.  W.  Robertson,  when  Commissioner  of  Agriculture  in 
Canada,  in  an  address  before  a  group  of  normal  students 
contrasted  the  lives  of  two  young  men  who  went  to  the 
great  West  together.  Both  were  school  teachers.  One  gave 
up  teaching,  because  he  could  not  make  money  fast  enough. 
He  got  a  chance  in  speculation.  In  twenty  years,  through 
land  booms  and  otherwise,  he  made  a  half  million.  The 
other  beheved  that  to  guide  a  human  life  and  help  it  develop 
right  was  the  greatest  investment.  Every  year  for  twenty 
years  he  averaged  fifteen  graduates  from  his  school  —  300 
lives  inspired  by  his  ideals,  each  the  center  of  ever  widening 
influence.  The  former  seems  a  tragic  failure,  the  latter  an 
ever  living  success. 

Books,  magazines,  papers  have  a  mighty  educational  in- 
fluence. The  student  in  a  community  can,  through  the 
pubhc  library  if  one  exists,  and  through  reading  clubs  and 
personal  influence,  direct  the  reading  and  create  a  demand 
for  the  best  literature.  Any  person  who  appreciates  the 
best  art  and  music  can  wonderfully  strengthen  and  stimulate 
those  who  have  worked  for  years  along  these  lines  with  all 
too  little  encouragement.  Every  piece  of  good  music,  every 
copy  of  a  great  picture,  every  room  however  poor  and 
simple  which  shows  good  taste,  is  a  direct  uplift  to  the  race. 
The  local  newspaper  in  a  small  town  usually  has  a  hard 
struggle.  The  editor  rarely  hears  anything  but  adverse 
criticism.  The  editor  in  a  small  eastern  town  was  soured 
and  bitter.  He  readily  printed  articles  against  the  church 
or  church  people.  The  minister  got  to  know  him,  brought 
him  work,  found  out  his  love  for  literature,  had  him  lecture 
for  him,  helped  him  with  news  items,  and  talked  under- 
standingly  about  an  editor's  difficulties.  At  the  farewell 
dinner  to  the  minister,  th«  editor,  a  very  taciturn  man  who 
never  spoke  in  public,  said,  ''Mr.  Blank  is  the  first  person 
whom  I  have  met  in  many  years  who  has  appreciated  an 
editor's  difficulties.  He  has  helped  me  back  to  better  faith 
in  men  and  a  more  wholesome  view  of  life  and  duty."    Was 


42      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

it  worth  while?    Helping  such  a  life  is  a  permanent  contri- 
bution to  the  welfare  of  the  world. 

2.  Social  Conditions.  In  almost  every  community  there 
are  forces  at  work  for  improving  conditions.  Anything  that 
ministers  to  better  living  is  helping  to  solve  the  world's  prob- 
lems. The  following  are  some  of  the  improvements  for 
which  forces  in  almost  every  community,  under  one  auspices 
or  another,  are  at  work: 

a.  Better  homes.  This  may  take  the  form  of  better 
housing  laws  and  building  regulations,  municipal  house 
building,  or  the  promotion  of  the  more  general  use  of  paint, 
whitewash,  decorations,  pictures,  flowers,  and  conveniences, 
and  the  beautifying  of  lawns  and  backyards.  Is  there  need 
along  these  Hues  in  your  county,  district,  town,  or  city? 

b.  Better  health.  Combating  disease  and  preventing  dis- 
ease are  given  an  important  place  in  the  Bible,  in  all  Chris- 
tian teaching,  social  service,  and  missionary  work.  Discuss 
the  contribution  made  to  the  economic  prosperity,  industry, 
and  happiness  of  the  community  by  anything  that  lessens 
sickness  and  promotes  health.  A  great  many  in  the  medical 
profession  have,  by  self-denial  and  unselfish,  heroic  service, 
approached  very  nearly  the  example  of  the  Great  Physician 
and  have  won  a  crown  of  glory  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
all  people. 

Some  of  the  ways  in  which  better  health  is  being  promoted 
from  different  angles  are  as  follows:  Child  welfare;  better 
hygienic  and  health  habits;  wholesome  play  and  recreation; 
housing  reform;  medical  and  dental  school  inspection;  pure 
water,  milk,  and  food;  quarantines,  district  nurses,  and  com- 
munity doctors;  hospitals  and  departments  of  pubHc  health; 
clean  streets  and  sanitation;  screens  and  swat-the-fly-cam- 
paigns;  reasonable  hours  of  labor,  with  leisure,  helpful 
recreation,  and  a  weekly  rest  day;  a  living  wage,  and  ade- 
quate provision  for  old  age  and  for  the  needy;  workmen's 
compensation  and  safety  first;  educational  campaigns  on 
diet,  cooking,  and  homemaking;    town  planning,  and  the 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       43 

elimination  of  the  horrible  evils  of  overcrowding  and  land 
speculation;  campaigns  against  all  forms  of  intemperance; 
the  prevention  of  crime  and  more  helpful  treatment  of 
criminals.  These  are  some  of  the  activities  found  in  most 
centers. 

c.  Better  morals.  Most  juvenile  crime  is,  as  Jane  Ad- 
dams  says,  "A  love  of  fun  gone  wrong.''  Juvenile  courts 
should  be  established  in  every  large  town  and  administered 
in  the  '^ paternal''  spirit  set  forth  in  the  Act.  But  in  dealing 
with  the  problem  of  crime  the  chief  stress  should  be  laid  on 
prevention:  homes  that  are  homes,  pubHc  schools  and 
Sunday  schools  that  are  vital  and  full  of  interesting  activity 
are  the  best  safeguards  against  crime.  Let  the  boys  and 
girls  that  have  gone  wrong  have  big  brothers  and  big  sisters. 
But  let  us  also  see  that  every  boy  and  girl  has  many  real  big 
brothers  and  big  sisters  so  that  they  may  never  go  astray. 
The  law  can  do  little  until  an  offense  has  been  committed. 
But  the  home,  school,  community,  church,  and  right-spirited 
citizen  all  influence  to  right  living  and  helpful  citizenship. 

d.  Care  of  the  needy.  Society  should  be  so  organized 
that  every  needy  person  is  cared  for.  We  should  feel  some- 
thing akin  to  family  disgrace  —  as  we  would  feel  if  a  brother 
or  a  sister  had  to  beg  —  when  we  see  anyone  begging.  If 
persons  are  unworthy  of  being  helped  they  should  be  set  at 
work;  if  worthy,  but  unable  to  work,  they  should  have  ade- 
quate care ;  if  they  lack  skill,  they  should  be  educated.  Many 
devoted  persons  everywhere  are  working  with  great  energy 
to  solve  the  problem  of  the  care  of  the  needy.  The  tre- 
mendous success  achieved  in  the  reeducation  of  maimed, 
blinded,  shattered  soldiers  makes  it  easily  possible  for  the 
community  or  state  to  provide  such  help  that  practically 
everyone  forced  to  beg  or  to  become  dependent  on  others 
may  become  a  self-respecting,  producing  member  of  society. 
Here  is  a  great  opportunity  for  college  men  and  women  to 
be  of  real  service  and  to  give  direction  and  leadership. 

e.  Fuller  social  life.    Consider  the  contributions  societies 


44      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

such  as  the  Y  M  and  Y  W  C  A,  the  King's  Daughters  and 
the  grange  have  made,  and  also  how  a  better  mail  service, 
the  rural  telephone,  and  community  recreational  and  social 
centers  enrich  hfe.  The  students  should  famiharize  them- 
selves with  recent  developments  in  social  center  work,  both 
in  connection  with  the  pubhc  school  and  as  a  community 
enterprise. 

3.  Industry.  Here  many  helpful  movements  find  their 
origin  and  nurtm-e.  Some  builders  of  railroads  and  pro- 
motors  of  mills,  mines,  and  other  industries  have  it  as  dis- 
tinctly and  definitely  their  object  to  promote  the  common 
good  as  have  the  social  reformers.  Many  conscientious 
men  and  women  have  risked  all  they  possessed  to  promote 
some  industry  which  they  thought  would  be  a  good  thing 
for  the  country.  Think  of  the  contribution  inventions  have 
made  to  the  common  good  and  of  the  number  of  explorers 
and  investigators  who  have  given  their  hves  a  free  offering 
for  the  cause  of  progress. 

In  business  the  idea  of  service  is  becoming  more  clearly 
recognized  as  the  essential  thing.  Formerly  the  motto  was, 
"Let  the  buyer  beware."  The  aim  was  to  dispose  of  the 
goods.  If  the  buyer  was  not  smart  enough  to  watch  his 
own  interest,  he  suffered.  Now  the  best  business  houses 
look  after  the  interests  of  their  customers.  "He  succeeds 
best  who  serves  best"  is  a  well-known  business  motto.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  cite  examples  of  firms  that  began  with  the 
idea  of  being  of  service.  Now  we  know  that  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  these  have  prospered  while  the  self-seekers  often 
failed.  Honest  dealing  and  reliable  goods  enabled  business 
to  break  down  the  old  barter  system  and  the  more  recent 
"beating  down"  buying,  in  which  the  skinflint  with  money 
bought  cheap  and  the  self-respecting  person  paid  dearly  be- 
cause he  gave  what  was  asked,  and  to  introduce  the  one 
price  system.  Banks  by  their  accuracy  and  honest  deahng, 
accounting  for  every  single  cent  in  accounts  of  a  few  dollars 
or  thousands,  have  greatly  aided  in  building  up  a  high  type 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       45 

of  business  transaction.  Can  you  make  clear  some  of  the 
contributions  to  character  and  good  living  that  have  been 
made,  for  example,  by  the  one-price  system  and  the  confi- 
dence which  banldng  has  inspired? 

Discuss  how  much  has  been  done  by  labor  unions  to  im- 
prove wages,  hours,  and  conditions  of  labor;  to  modify 
factory  laws;  to  secure  protection  of  life,  and  to  defend  the 
rights  of  the  poorest  workman  by  labor  unions.  With  all 
their  faults,  where  can  greater  self-sacrifice  be  found  on 
the  part  of  the  many  for  what  they  regard  as  the  rights  of 
others?  Men  and  women  by  the  thousands  have  sacrificed 
everything  and  endured  starvation  almost,  to  support  the 
rights  of  fellow-workers  in  other  cities  and  other  trades. 

Consider  also  how  much  time  and  energy  boards  of  trade 
put  into  work  for  the  pubhc  welfare,  and  the  enormous  con- 
tribution made  by  such  organizations  as  the  grange  and  grain 
growers'  associations,  farmers'  institutes,  women's  institutes, 
fairs,  pure-bred  stock  and  prize  seed  associations,  and  all 
movements  for  cooperative  buying,  selling,  and  distribution. 

It  may  come  as  a  surprise  to  many  to  find  what  business 
firms  are  doing  and  how  much  money  they  put  into  welfare 
work  for  their  own  employes.  The  class  should  investigate 
and  report  on  this. 

A  little  informed  thinking  will  soon  lead  one  to  see  that 
in  the  mighty  forces  of  industry  are  possibilities  of  service 
that,  though  seldom  considered,  have  been  and  are  mighty 
factors  in  the  bringing  in  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Any 
educated  person  may  be  able,  by  cooperation  and  leader- 
ship, to  bring  this  ideal  of  service  to  consciousness  and  make 
it  the  definite  aim  in  the  industrial  movements  of  his  com- 
munity. 

4.  Recreation,  The  value  of  recreation  has  come  to  be 
recognized  in  recent  years.  Students  of  this  course  know  the 
importance  of  recreation  and  sport.  It  is  to  be  remembered 
that  one's  character  can  be  judged  by  how  he  spends  his 
leisure  time.    While  people  are  busy  they  are  not  in  much 


46      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

moral  danger.  It  is  in  leisure  time  that  the  barroom,  pool- 
room, gambUng  dens,  and  such  places  gather  in  their  prey. 
Discuss  some  of  the  ways  in  which  sports  and  recreation 
have  benefited  people  and  communities,  and  make  a  hst  of 
the  needs  of  both  the  country  and  the  city  in  this  respect 
and  the  ways  in  which  any  citizen  may  promote  good  recre- 
ation and  sport.     Take  up  the  following  points: 

a.  Supervised  play.  It  is  necessary  to  have  decent  play- 
grounds within  easy  reach  of  all  the  children.  Children 
should  be  taught  to  play.  It  will  be  a  surprise  to  many  to 
find  that  in  almost  every  center  is  a  band  of  people  who  have 
long  worked  to  this  end. 

b.  Team  games  and  athletics.  The  character-building 
value  of  sports  is  well  known,  developing  self-coDtrol,  quick 
judgment,  decision,  honesty,  helpfulness,  loyalty,  courage, 
and  generosity.  One  difficulty  is  that  often  the  few  take 
part  and  the  many  sit  on  the  bleachers. 

c.  Amusement.  This  is  one  of  the  big  problems  in  many 
places.  While  the  general  public  criticize,  some  few  will  be 
found  to  be  studying  the  problem  seriously  and  giving 
guidance  to  better  things.  The  aim  should  be  to  provide  a 
high  type  of  wholesome  amusement  —  not  by  denunciation 
but  by  driving  out  the  lower  forms.  Now  that  the  saloons 
are  being  closed,  an  obligation  rests  on  the  community  to 
minister  especially  to  those  who  spent  most  of  their  leisure 
there  and  know  nothing  better. 

A  great  many  abuses  have  come  in,  usually  because  recre- 
ation and  amusement  are  commercialized.  The  public  dance 
hall,  with  its  degrading  associations  and  lurking  dangers,  the 
cheap  type  of  motion  picture  shows,  the  debasing  pool  room, 
result.  The  Young  Women's  and  Young  Men's  Christian 
Associations  have  shown  how  amusements  and  recreation 
may  be  an  elevating  agency.  In  every  community  there 
are  those  who  are  enthusiasts  in  sport.  With  a  httle  support 
and  direction  tennis  clubs,  bowling  and  curling  rinks,  base- 
ball, football,  basketball  and  hockey  teams,  snowshoeing 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       47 

clubs,  camping  parties,  and  a  great  variety  of  glorious  out- 
door sports  may  be  organized,  and  the  anemic,  unwholesome 
kinds  will  tend  to  atrophy. 

The  local  ball  team,  in  a  little  prairie  town,  though  sup- 
ported by  the  town,  did  not  have  the  respect  of  the  best 
people.  Few  attended  its  games  because  of  the  rough  play 
and  rougher  language.  Two  young  men  came  to  town. 
They  were  found  to  be  good  players.  Asked  to  join  the  team, 
they  said  they  would  if  dishonest  play  and  bad  language 
were  cut  out.  Before  the  season  was  over  the  men  on  that 
team,  which  before  was  the  worst  in  the  league,  would  stop 
a  game  if  the  visiting  teams  indulged  in  ungentlemanly 
words  or  play.  The  character  of  league  games  changed 
completely  and,  naturally,  the  games  were  patronized  as 
never  before. 

But  it  did  not  stop  there.  The  boys'  team  had  observed 
all  that  happened.  They  called  a  solemn  conclave  and 
decided  to  clean  up  their  sport.  But  how  enforce  their 
law?  No  older  friend  was  with  them  to  guide  them,  so  they 
decided  that  any  fellow  who  heard  another  use  bad  words  or 
saw  him  do  anything  "crooked''  must  "draw  off  and  hit 
him  right  in  the  face"!  For  some  days  blood  flowed,  be- 
cause they  had  no  older  person  of  strong  character  as  their 
counsellor.  But  they  also  cleaned  up  their  sport.  Are  there 
any  groups  of  boys  or  girls  in  your  community  who  need  a 
real  friend? 

The  motion  picture  shows  in  a  certain  village  were  horrible. 
The  new  teacher  beHeved  that  most  theater  managers  are 
ready  to  give  the  best  they  can  get  if  it  is  appreciated.  She 
was  right  in  so  thinking.  She  got  to  know  the  manager,  told 
him  she  was  telling  the  children  stories  from  Dickens'  novels 
and  Shakespeare's  plays  and  she  wished  they  could  see  them 
played.  Next  week  one  of  these  was  on  the  bill.  The  chil- 
dren and  their  friends  came.  Then  on  certain  afternoons, 
when  he  could  get  a  film  she  wanted,  she  would  interpret  the 
pictures,  such  as  a  play  of  Shakespeare,  a  science  film,  or 


48      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

Bible  scenes,  as  they  were  shown.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
character  of  the  ''shows''  changed  completely? 

Cooperation,  recognition  of  what  is  good,  friendly  insight 
and  helpfulness  are  powerful  factors  in  working  reformation, 
though  sometimes  stern  measures  are  necessary.  The  aim 
should  be  to  secure  clean,  helpful  sport  and  amusement  that 
is  recreational,  whether  commercial  or  through  community 
cooperation,  or  both. 

5.  Government  Every  citizen  should  take  a  close,  per- 
sonal interest  in  every  governing  body,  such  as  the  school 
board,  board  of  health,  the  township,  town,  or  city  council, 
the  local  legislature,  the  National  Government.  This  is  as 
necessary  for  women  as  for  men.  The  attitude  should  not  be 
to  find  fault,  but  to  get  into  sympathetic  touch,  so  as  to 
understand  the  problems  and  lead  the  governing  bodies  to 
realize  that  their  work  is  to  minister  to  the  people,  protect 
their  interests,  and  develop  the  best  conditions  of  living. 
Usually  a  large  proportion  of  those  in  office  are  using  their 
best  thought  and  effort  to  improve  conditions,  and  give  time 
and  money  beyond  what  most  of  their  critics  imagine.  But 
many  lack  knowledge,  vision,  and  the  commendation  and 
support  of  good  citizens;  while  the  lower  element  is  always 
around,  pulling  every  wire  and  using  every  influence.  Just 
adverse  criticism  by  good  citizens  is  necessary;  helpful 
encouragement  and  support  are  also  necessary  and  often 
more  effective. 

A  young  household  science  graduate  saw  the  need  of  many 
improvements  in  the  public  school.  She  always  went  to  her 
trustees  for  counsel,  honored  them  in  every  way,  helped  them 
see  their  work  in  a  new  light,  incidentally  put  in  their  way 
photographs  of  other  schools,  got  them  to  meet  any  traveling 
educationist,  and  brought  her  most  ardent  supporters  into 
friendly  touch  with  the  board.  The  necessary  improvements 
came.  A  graduate  of  a  law  school  started  practice  in  another 
small  town  and  in  much  the  same  way  succeeded  in  bringing 
the  town  council  to  the  place  where  they  saw  their  position 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       49 

as  a  public  trust  for  public  service.  He  discovered  that  most 
of  them  were  anxious  to  do  right.  Many  church  people  would 
be  surprised  if  they  knew  how  seriously  many  members  of  the 
council  and  of  Parliament  take  their  office  and  how  ardently 
they  work  for  what  they  believe  is  the  common  good.  They 
need  the  inspiration,  vision,  and  uphft  that  come  from  the 
sympathetic  support  of  the  best  people. 

It  is  true  that  there  are  times  when  nothing  but  a  direct 
fight  will  win  victory.  Such  conditions  must  be  faced  fear- 
lessly at  whatever  personal  cost,  and  all  the  good  forces 
rallied.  But  in  ordinary  circumstances  much  more  may  be 
accomplished,  as  above  examples  show,  than  is  ordinarily 
thought  possible. 

Perhaps  under  this  head  may  be  placed  that  promising, 
potent  force  which  is  becoming  increasingly  prominent  and 
which  we  may  designate  as  community  life.  It  represents 
the  surge  into  consciousness  of  the  community  spirit,  which 
insists  that  the  community  is  a  neighborhood  or  big  family  and 
should  share  life  as  it  is  shared  in  the  best  family  life.  The 
consolidated  school,  the  school  as  a  commimity  center, 
community  playgrounds  and  recreation,  county  improvement 
associations,  civic  theater,  and  community  church  are 
important  manifestations  of  their  spirit.  This  drawing  to- 
gether of  the  community  to  promote  the  best  good  of  all, 
breaking  down  isolation  and  jealousies  in  wholesome  co- 
operative effort  for  mutual  good,  is  surely  one  of  the  signs  of 
the  growth  of  the  Kingdom.  It  offers  a  great  opportunity 
to  educated  young  people,  especially  in  the  new  movement 
for  week-day  religious  education. 

6.  Religion,  In  all  of  the  forces  mentioned  and  in  others 
not  mentioned,  there  are  great  possibilities  of  good.  Indeed 
when  one  thinks  over  the  fine  idealism  and  the  actual  practice 
of  industrial,  recreational,  and  political  circles,  one  feels  all 
these  ''are  not  far  from  the  Kingdom.^'  The  bringing  in  of 
the  kingdom  of  helpfulness,  good  will,  love,  does  not  seem 
nearly  so  far  off  and  visionary  when  we  see  how  near  these 


50      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

great  forces  at  their  best  come  to  the  highest  ideals.  It  is 
necessary  only  to  bring  these  ideals,  usually  latent,  to  con- 
sciousness and  make  them  the  dominating  purpose,  not  only 
in  a  few  cases  but  generally  in  human  society.  Religion  is 
one  of  the  greatest  forces  in  the  world.  There  is  a  temptation 
in  an  age  of  activity  when  there  are  so  many  things  to  do  to 
underestimate  its  value.  The  next  chapter  will  discuss  its 
place  and  power. 


Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation,  and  Practice 
Work 

1.  Read  I  Cor.  12 :  4-31.  Paul  here  speaks  of  society  as 
an  organism.  Each  one  is  a  '^member  in  particular.' '  What 
can  the  student  do  to  promote  sound  health  in  that  organism, 
locally  and  throughout  the  world?  Can  we  remove  causes 
that  make  others  sources  of  pain  and  disturbance  ? 

2.  Is  each  one  a  "member  in  particular?''  By  a  large 
number  of  concrete  cases  from  humble  and  exalted  positions 
show  whether  this  is  so.  If  it  is,  what  effect  should  it  have 
on  the  spirit  in  which  each  does  his  work  —  including  myself? 
Read  again  Van  Dyke's  poem. 

3.  By  actual  investigation  gather  first-hand  knowledge  of 
the  chief  forces  for  the  promotion  of  good  living  in  your  home 
or  college  community.  For  example,  let  one  group  find  out 
what  the  public  school  is  doing  besides  merely  teaching  the 
textbooks.  Visit  a  few  schools,  discuss  each  with  teachers, 
school  board,  etc.  Another  group  will  have  a  real  voyage  of 
discovery  if  it  gets  into  personal  touch  with  all  the  movements 
for  improving  social  conditions;  another,  with  what  industries 
and  business  are  doing  in  welfare  work  (besides  visiting  local 
plants,  write  to  some  big  national  firms) ;  another,  with  move- 
ments for  better  recreation  (also  write  national  organizations 
for  information) ;  and  another,  with  what  the  various  govern- 
ing bodies  are  doing;  etc.,  etc.     This  work  should  be  full  of 


FORCES  MAKING  FOR  IMPROVEMENT       51 

thrilling  inspiration.    Discuss  how  a  good  citizen  may  con- 
tribute largely  to  better  things. 

4.  Does  the  success  of  a  league  of  nations  depend  on  the 
personal  character  of  the  people?  If  so,  what  bearing  has 
this  on  the  relation  of  supporters  of  that  idea  to  the  reli- 
gious education  of  the  young? 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION 

It  sometimes  happens  in  college  and  in  the  affairs  of  our 
busy,  everyday  life  that  we  feel  rehgion  has  no  essential  place 
or  power  today.  So  many  cherished  behefs  of  the  past  have 
had  to  give  way  before  modern  progress  that  some  have 
doubted  the  validity  of  the  claims  of  rehgion.  Is  it  very  much 
more  than  a  pleasant,  helpful  sentiment?  Are  not  such 
forces  as  those  mentioned  in  Chapter  IV  actually  doing  what- 
ever is  being  done,  and  capable  of  doing  all  that  is  necessary 
to  make  the  world  what  it  ought  to  be?  This  whole  question 
is  a  central  one  for  the  student  —  for  everybody.  On  its 
answer  depends  one's  attitude  to  his  work,  to  Ufe,  and  to  God. 
Let  us  face  the  question  frankly,  not  from  the  point  of  view  of 
theology  or  apologetics,  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
college  student  who  is  profoundly  interested  and  serious. 

In  the  first  place,  we  must  recognize  the  fact  that  religion 
has  not  been  "invented";  it  is  not  the  product  of  priestcraft. 
Religion  is  a  race-impulse  just  as  self-preservation  or  the 
eating  of  food  is  a  race-impulse.  To  seek  to  know  the  Power 
Beyond  and  Above  and  to  enjoy  His  care,  protection,  and  love 
is  as  much  a  human  craving  as  the  desire  for  water  is  an 
imperative  demand  of  the  body.  It  is  an  essential  part  of 
what  is  meant  by  "human''  being,  not  something  added  or 
affected,  not  a  separable  shred  of  life,  but  an  integral  and 
essential  part  of  its  texture  as  human  and  no  more  separable 
than  are  the  physical,  or  the  intellectual,  or  the  social  char- 
acteristics. As  the  physical  is  essential  and  inseparable  from 
what  is  meant  by  a  himian  person  in  this  world,  so  is  the 
religious  nature  inherent,  essential,  and  inseparable.     Reli- 

52 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  53 

gion  has  existed  from  the  earliest  days  of  human  Hfe.  It  has 
continued  ever  since,  changing  in  form  and  expression  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  the  age  but  ever  increasing  in  depth  and 
in  momentum.  It  is  found  wherever  man  is  found.  Man 
without  rehgion  is  as  impossible  as  man  without  intellect. 

Religion  inherent  in  man's  nature  is  developed  through 
urgent  needs.  This  is  perhaps  most  clearly  seen  in  the 
earliest  beginnings  when  hfe  was  not  complex.  Early  man 
felt  the  elemental  needs  pressing — ^the  need  of  food,  of 
shelter,  and  of  defense  from  the  elements,  animals,  and  man. 
It  was  early  found  that  success  depended  first,  on  some 
unknown  factor  —  the  will  of  the  gods;  and  second,  on  the 
group  acting  together  for  the  common  good.  It  was  religion 
that  supplied  the  key  to  both.  It  taught  mea  how  to  under- 
stand the  gods  and  it  supphed  a  bond  strong  enough  to  bind 
the  group  together  for  a  common  goal.  Whoever  could  read 
the  will  of  the  gods  as  revealed  in  signs,  portents,  or  the  inner 
consciousness  came  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  most  valued 
member  of  the  group  and  necessary  to  its  welfare.  So  it  was 
natural  that  those  who  could  do  this  —  the  shaman,  medicine 
man,  priest  —  came  to  be  set  apart  as  a  distinct  class. 

The  basis  of  religion  from  the  human  point  of  view  is  shown 
in  germ  in  this  early,  simple  society:  first,  the  essential  nature 
of  the  human  person,  the  race  impulse  for  fellowship  with  God, 
the  inherent,  imperative  demand  of  the  human  soul  to  find 
Him;  second,  a  pressing  human  need,  a  vital  common  interest; 
third,  cooperation  for  the  common  good,  and  fourth,  the  need 
of  having  specially  trained  and  consecrated  leadership  in 
spiritual  things.  It  will  be  of  interest  to  trace  in  class  how 
these  characteristics  have  persisted  in  widely  differing  times, 
races,  and  circumstances. 

Now  let  us  go  a  step  further.  It  is  all  very  well  to  say  that 
religion  is  a  race  impulse.  Some  race  impulses  must  be 
crushed  out  in  modem  hfe.  What  needs  does  it  spring  from 
and  satisfy?  If  these  are  not  permanent  needs  and  the  satis- 
factions ennobling,  rehgion  may  well  be  a  passing  phase  of 


54      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

experience.  The  following  are  some  of  the  contributions  of 
religion  that  measure  up  to  the  most  exacting  demands. 

1.  One  of  the  deep-seated  needs  of  man  is  to  find  adequate 
causes.  He  is  driven  to  this  by  the  very  constitution  of  his 
nature.  This  need  manifests  itself  in  the  interminable  ques- 
tions of  children,  in  the  myths  of  early  man,  in  the  best 
thought,  the  science,  philosophy,  and  theology,  of  the  most 
highly  developed  races.  One  question  especially  has  always 
fascinated  man,  namely,  What  is  the  Cause  of  causes  ?  Reli- 
gion supplies  an  adequate  answer  —  God,  the  Creator. 

But  some  will  say,  ''That  answer  is  sufficient  for  childhood. 
But  in  college  we  have  come  to  understand  how  vast  and 
complex  the  world  is.  Our  wide  knowledge  and  deep  thought 
make  it  impossible  to  believe  that  God  created  all."  These 
words  are  very  familiar.  They  express  an  experience  com- 
mon to  many  —  perhaps  to  most  of  us  —  in  the  first  year  or 
two  of  college  life.  But  consider  this.  Belief  in  God,  the 
Creator,  might  be  thrown  out  because  it  is  hard,  were  it  not 
for  the  fact  that  it  is  so  much  harder  to  believe  the  alternative. 
Doubt,  skepticism,  atheism  not  infrequently  get  possession 
because  of  cowardice  in  facing  alternatives  or  of  lack  of 
intellectual  penetration  to  see  and  state  them  clearly.  What 
is  the  alternative  to  belief  in  God,  the  Creator?  Belief  in 
uncreated,  unintelligent,  insentient  laws  and  in  chance  — 
"the  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms."  Now  "laws"  are 
simply  the  habitual  or  invariable  ways  in  which  things 
happen.  If  laws  are  the  cause,  then  the  cause  of  a  thing 
happening  is  the-way-it-has-al ways-happened!  An  unsus- 
pended  apple  always  falls  to  the  earth.  The  cause  of  its 
falling  is  that-it-has-al ways-fallen!  Assisted,  of  course,  by 
chance.  We  refuse  to  believe  anything  like  this  in  the 
simplest  affairs  of  life,  because  we  know  it  is  not  tru£.  Fancy 
the  watch  made  by  impersonal  "laws,"  assembled  part  to  part 
by  chance,  coming  just  when  required  to  the  watchmaker's 
window,  set  going,  regulated,  and  with  the  price  marked  on  it! 

The  human  mind  just  because  it  is  human  demands  a 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  55 

satisfactory  and  reasonable  Cause.  The  ostrich-like  may 
hide  his  head  in  the  desert  sand  of  doubt.  The  intelligent 
will  face  the  facts.  The  alternatives  are  an  all-wise,  all- 
loving  God  who  works  according  to  laws;  or  insentient  laws 
and  chance.  Each  view  requires  faith,  the  latter  much  more 
than  the  former,  because  it  is  irrational  and  contradictory  to 
all  experience.  Religion  gives  the  glow  and  inspiration  of  a 
God  who  is  Father  and  a  universe  that  is  rational,  friendly, 
where  man  is  in  his  Father^s  house  and  that  is  '^crammed  with 
heaven."  Here  is  inspiration  to  work  because  the  universe 
is  moral  and  the  destiny  of  man  is  glorious.  The  other  way 
lie  despair,  degeneration,  suicide.  The  student  must  make 
his  choice.  He  has  'Hhe  will  to  believe."  Religion  gives  an 
adequate  Cause  that  has  inspired  the  race  to  glorious  achieve- 
ment and  to  an  unconquerable  faith  in  the  Right,  in  the 
nobility  of  every  life,  and  in  the  high  destiny  of  man.  It  was 
this  that  sustained  France,  Britain,  Belgium,  and  the  other 
Allies  in  the  darkest  hours  of  the  terrible  four  years'  struggle. 
Men  and  women  will  not  die  for  insentient  laws  or  for  a  Right 
that  is  based  on  chance. 

2.  Everyone  at  times  craves  companionship.  We  may  be 
self-sufficient  most  of  the  time  and  may  feel  quite  independent 
of  others.  But  is  it  not  so  that  at  times  we  must  have  some 
one  to  talk  to  and  confide  in  ?  At  such  a  time  many  folks  but 
irritate  us.  We  long  for  the  one  or  two  kindred  spirits.  If 
this  is  not  so,  what  significance  have  the  words  chum,  comrade, 
friend?  And  these  close  friends  must  always  be  few.  There 
is  but  one  in  our  experience  who  comes  near  to  satisfying  us  at 
all  times.  For  this  one  we  select  and  reserve  a  word  that 
elevates  that  one  on  a  towering  pinnacle  where  only  one  can 
stand,  the  sacred  word  —  lover.  And  there  are  some  experi- 
ences and  moods  that  even  that  one  cannot  fully  share  and 
satisfy.  This  very  familiar  experience  tells  us  that  the  human 
heart  seeks  ideal  friendship,  and  will  not  be  satisfied  with  less. 
That  ideal  transcends  human  possibilities.  It  is  the  longing 
of  the  human  life  after  God  (Psalm  42).    But  how  can  the 


56      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

finite  get  into  fellowship  with  the  Infinite?  Hear  this  cry  all 
through  human  experience  —  '^0  that  I  might  find  Him." 
"Show  us  the  Father.'^  And  then  comes  to  us  the  boldest 
and  most  beautiful  conception  of  the  human  heart  and  mind, 
that  God  revealed  himself  in  human  form  —  incarnated  in 
human  life.  *""" 

"The  very  God!  think,  Abib;  dost  thou  think? 
So,  the  All-Great,  were  the  All-Loving  too  — 
So,  thro^  the  thunder  comes  a  human  voice 
Saying,  'O  heart  I  made,  a  heart  beats  here! 
Face,  my  hands  fashioned,  see  it  in  myself! 
Thou  hast  no  power  nor  mayst  conceive  of  mine: 
But  love  I  gave  thee,  with  myself  to  love. 
And  thou  must  love  me  who  have  died  for  thee!'" 

—  Browning,  "An  Epistle  of  Karshish." 

Religion,  and  religion  alone,  gives  a  friendship  that  satisfies 
every  craving  of  the  human  heart,  a  friendship  that  stands  the 
supreme  test  "Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends"  (John  15  :  13).  The  value 
of  this  one  contribution,  given  to  us  only  in  religion,  surpasses 
all  computation. 

It  is  this  companionship  with  the  great  and  good  God  that 
makes  prayer  and  meditation  such  a  strengthening,  upHfting 
power  in  life.  Great  leaders  such  as  Chinese  Gordon,  Living- 
stone, Gladstone,  Washington,  Lincoln,  Lloyd  George, 
Admiral  Beatty,  and  the  outstanding  civil  and  mihtary 
leaders  among  the  Allies  gave  first  place  to  prayer,  recognizing 
that  all  strength  comes  from  God.  Here  is  a  picture  given  by 
the  Toronto  Globe ^  in  November,  1918: 

"A  soldier  had  gone  into  an  old  church  in  France,  and  as 
he  stood  there  a  gray-haired  man,  with  the  marks  of  a  Gen- 
eral on  his  uniform,  entered  the  church,  accompanied  simply 
by  an  orderly.  The  soldier  paid  little  attention  at  first  to 
the  man,  but  was  interested  to  see  him  kneel  in  the  church 
praying.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour  had  passed  before  the 
man  arose  from  his  knees,  and  when  the  soldier  followed  him 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  57 

down  the  street  he  was  surprised  to  see  soldiers  saluting 
him  in  great  excitement  and  women  and  children  stopping, 
with  awe  on  their  faces,  as  he  passed  by.  It  was  Foch.  .  .  . 
^'It  is  said  that  this  was  no  unusual  occurrence,  for  Foch 
never  fails  to  spend  time  every  morning  and  every  night  on 
his  knees,  and  has  done  this  all  his  Hfe."  j, 

Foch  was  then  conducting  the  biggest  military  campaign 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the  victory 
drive.  Yet  he  had  time  and  felt  it  necessary  to  spend  time 
in  prayer. 

But  we  are  often  "  too  busy  " !  Or  we  think  it  old-fashioned 
Cir  not  important! 

3.  Students  —  especially  young  students  —  are  sometimes 
supposed  to  be  more  sure  of  their  own  sufficiency  than  of 
anything  else.  But  in  our  own  hearts  we  know  that  this  is 
not  always  so.  Men  in  all  ages  —  the  greatest  and  best  as 
well  as  others  —  have  cried  out  in  pain  and  distress  because 
of  the  sense  of  their  own  incompleteness  and  insufficiency.  It 
may  be  an  expression  of  weakness,  the  lack  of  strength  to  do 
a  task,  to  live  one's  life,  to  bear  a  burden,  to  face  death;  it 
may  be  a  yearning  after  some  ideal,  the  outbreaking  of  an 
aspiration;  it  often  is  because  of  failure,  mistakes,  or  the  sense 
of  sin,  but  whatever  it  is,  it  is  a  sense  of  incompleteness  that 
earth  and  its  fulness  cannot  satisfy.  It  is  as  conmion  among 
the  rich  and  cultured  as  among  the  poor  and  ignorant.  It  is 
as  characteristic  of  the  strongest  and  noblest  as  it  is  of  the 
weak.  It  is  the  cry  for  forgiveness,  for  redemption,  for  at- 
one-ment  with  one's  best  self  and  with  God.  Religion  meets 
this  deep,  human  need  and  satisfies  it.  Paul,  Chinese  Gordon, 
Lincoln  go  out  strengthened  to  their  world  work  and  the  poor, 
distracted,  broken  driftwood  of  the  slums  rise  through  the 
same  power  to  high  purpose  and  noble  living. 

4.  Yet  another  outstanding  human  need  always  demands 
satisfaction.  After  this  life  —  what?  All  sensible  people,  all 
who  think,  ask  this  question.  This  life  with  all  its  inequali- 
ties, its  injustice,  its  love  and  joy,  its  aspirations  unfilled  —  is 


58      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

it  all?  Is  death  just  the  grave?  Even  those  who  spurn 
religion  often  seek  some  message  of  comfort  from  this  ministry 
at  the  funeral  of  their  loved  ones  because  in  the  heart  burns 
a  hope  unquenchable.  Surely  here  is  one  of  the  deepest  needs 
of  the  human  heart.  Religion  alone  brings  with  confidence 
and  authority  the  glad  message  that  death  is  not  the  end  but 
the  entrance  into  a  better,  richer,  fuller  life.  The  ecstasy  of 
this  glorious  truth  rings  through  the  triumph  song  of  Paul  as 
the  significance  of  it  bursts  upon  him  as  it  has  upon  countless 
multitudes:  ''Death  is  swallowed  up  in  victory.  O  Death, 
where  is  your  victory?  0  Death,  where  is  your  sting?"  and 
he  adds,  ''The  victory  is  ours,  thank  God!  He  makes  it  ours 
by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Well  then,  my  beloved  brothers, 
hold  your  ground  immovable;  abound  in  work  for  the  Lord 
at  all  times,  for  you  may  be  sure  that  in  the  Lord  your  labour 
is  never  thrown  away"  (I  Cor.  15:  54-58,  Moffat's  trans- 
lation) . 

This  same  assurance  has  made  men  strong  to  "stand  im- 
movable" in  every  emergency.  It  is  a  tower  of  strength. 
Nothing  did  more  to  inspire  those  who  endured  beyond  our 
power  to  imagine  and  those  who  died  for  us  in  the  awful  War. 
Hear  the  message  of  Sir  Arthur  Currie,  Commander  of  the 
Canadian  Corps  in  Flanders  during  the  terrible  battle  of 
Picardy,  March  27,  1918,  when  the  fate  of  the  empire  and  of 
the  world  seemed  to  be  in  the  balance.  He  said  in  part  to 
those  who  are  among  the  strongest  and  bravest  of  men: 

"Under  the  orders  of  your  devoted  officers  in  the  coming 
battle,  you  will  advance,  or  fall  where  you  stand,  facing  the 
enemy. 

"To  those  who  fall,  I  say:  *You  will  not  die,  but  step 
into  immortaUty!  .  .  .  Your  names  will  be  revered  for  ever 
by  your  grateful  country  and  God  will  take  you  unto  himself. 

"On  many  a  hard-fought  field  of  battle  you  have  over- 
come the  enemy,  and  with  God's  help  you  shall  achieve 
victory  once  more." 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  59 

The  French  are  always  sustained  by  the  consciousness  that 
those  who  fall  are  still  fighting  with  them. 

"They  are  not  dead"  is  the  message  brought  to  us  from  the 
field.  In  times  of  ease  we  may  be  flippant  or  atheists.  But 
in  the  supreme  moment  of  life  and  of  human  history  the  glori- 
ous truth  of  immortality  has  made  endurance  and  victory  for 
the  Right  possible.  It  is  religion  that  has  preserved  and 
teaches  this  Easter  faith. 

5.  Religion  gives  a  foundation  for  faith  in  the  triumph  of 
the  Right,  Faith  in  the  Right  holds  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
all  the  odds  are  against  it.  Though  Right  is  on  the  scaffold 
and  Wrong  on  the  throne,  faith  in  the  ultimate  outcome  does 
not  wane.  Why?  Because  of  the  faith  that  God  stands,  in 
the  shadows  perhaps,  keeping  watch.  It  is  this  that  has 
sustained  men  and  women  in  every  age  to  keep  up  the  fight 
when  everything  else  failed  them.  It  has  given  rise  to  the 
unconquerable  conviction  that  ''one,  with  God  on  his  side,  is 
a  majority."  It  was  this  that  enabled  Sir  Fowell  Buxton  to 
advocate  the  abolition  of  slavery,  though  he  stood  alone  in 
Parhament.  When  his  first  bill  was  read  it  was  received  with 
shouts  of  derision,  but  he  said,  ''Mr.  Speaker,  the  reading  of 
this  bill  is  the  beginning  of  a  movement  that  will  surely  end 
in  the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  British  Dominion." 
This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  in  Britain  a  whole  generation 
earlier  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 

Confidence  in  the  triumph  of  the  Right  can  never  die  while 
the  belief  in  God  lives.  This  is  one  of  the  untold  blessings 
religion  has  brought  to  the  world.  The  following  quotation 
from  the  Toronto  Globe  of  April  24,  1918,  recalls  another 
striking  historic  incident: 

"During  the  awful  tyranny  of  the  French  Commune  in 
1871  the  venerable  Archbishop  of  Paris  was  arrested  and 
brought  before  the  Tribunal.  As  he  stood  before  his  Judges 
he  asked:  'What  do  you  wish,  my  children?'  They  an- 
swered: 'Do  not  speak  to  us  like  that;  we  are  your  superiors. 
Who  are  you?'  they  asked.     He  replied:   'I  am  the  servant 


60      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

of  God/  And  when  they  asked  again,  'Where  is  God?'  he 
answered,  'Everywhere/  Then  they  issued  an  order  for 
'the  arrest  of  one  God,  who  was  everywhere/  But,  as 
someone  has  aptly  pointed  out,  that  order  was  never  exe- 
cuted. And  we  today  are  sure  that  before  Germany  —  who 
is  fighting  against  everything  for  which  Jesus  Christ  and 
Christianity  stand  —  before  Germany  can  win  this  war  she 
must  execute  an  order  for  'the  arrest  of  one  God,  who  is 
everywhere/  Those  who  have  God  as  their  Captain  are 
absolutely  sure  of  victory/' 

When  the  great  Allied  victory  came  in  September,  1918, 
one  of  the  most  illuminating  and  significant  features  of  the 
time  was  the  almost  imiversal  acknowledgment  that  "before, 
beneath,  and  behind  all  the  human  skill  and  power  shown  by 
the  Alhes  were  the  Divine  Presence,  Wisdom,  and  OverruUng 
Strength/'  King  George  said,  "The  hour  is  one  of  solemn 
thanksgiving  and  gratitude  to  God/'  Lloyd  George  said, 
"Let  us  thank  God"  and  repeated  the  words  of  the  Psalmist 
"  Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us,  but  unto  Thy  name  give 
glory/'  Asquith  said,  "The  House  (of  Commons)  could  do 
nothing  but  acknowledge  its  gratitude  to  Ahnighty  God/' 
The  British  Parliament  at  once  adjourned  when  it  was 
reported  that  the  armistice  was  signed,  and  the  members 
went  in  a  body  to  a  nearby  church  to  imite  in  praise  and 
thanksgiving.  In  Toronto  and  many  Canadian  cities  the 
crowds  thronging  the  streets  kneeled  in  prayer  and  united  in 
the  Doxology.    A  New  York  scene  is  thus  described: 

"Before  the  celebration  had  lasted  more  than  a  few  min- 
utes a  tall,  fresh-cheeked  English  girl,  with  the  Devonshire 
bloom  still  on  her  cheeks,  clunbed  on  the  platform  of  '  Liberty 
Hall.'  The  crowd  became  hushed  as  she  raised  a  hand. 
Then  in  a  clear,  silvery  voice  the  girl  sang  the  Doxology.  A 
churchly  calm  spread  over  Times  Square.  Heads  were 
bowed  and  hats  came  off  as  the  song  of  praise  to  the  Almighty 
winged  its  way  upward." 

In  France,  Belgium,  Serbia,  and  the  other  nations  that  have 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  61 

experienced  the  crushing  heel  of  the  Hun,  the  spontaneous 
outpouring  of  the  people's  gratitude  to  God  was  overwhelm- 
ing. Better  for  a  nation  to  perish  miserably  than  to  lose  this 
contact  with  God  which  is  the  heart  of  reUgion. 

Truly  the  Psalmist  expressed  a  fundamental  fact  in  the  life 
of  the  individual  or  nation:  "If  God  be  for  us  who  can  be 
against  us?"  Fight  the  good  fight  whatever  the  odds.  The 
Right  must  prevail. 

6.  And  what  has  always  inspired  confidence  in  others  and 
work  for  themf  What  has  sent  missionaries,  social  workers, 
reformers,  against  their  own  selfish  interests,  often  against  the 
advice  of  friends  and  family,  sometimes  against  the  policy  of 
the  church,  to  work  for  the  outcast  and  for  social  ideals?  At 
basis  this:  that  all  are  equal  in  God's  sight.  Here  is  the  root 
of  the  driving  ideal  which  is  modifying  all  thought  and  making 
over  the  world,  the  brotherhood  of  man. 

Just  now  the  world  has  become  a  neighborhood  as  far  as 
being  brought  close  together  is  concerned.  The  nations 
should  live  together  as  good  neighbors  do.  What  alone  will 
make  this  possible?  The  recognition  of  each  other  as 
brothers  —  as  sons  of  God.  Permanent  peace  can  be  based 
on  no  other  foundation.  Trade  will  not  give  a  safe  basis; 
nor  labor;  nor  capital;  nor  can  invention;  nor  peace  propa- 
ganda; nor  international  law.  All  these  have  snapped  like 
broken  reeds.  The  world  has  had  a  rude  awakening.  But 
when  people  regard  each  other  as  brothers,  as  children  of  God, 
then  peace  is  inevitable  and  permanent.  Whoever  prays  for 
peace  let  him  labor  incessantly  to  fill  the  world  with  the  spirit 
of  love  and  brotherhood.  These  issue  in  good  will.  This  is 
the  Christian  message. 

7.  Rehgion  has  ever  taught  the  supremacy  of  the  spiritual, 
the  ideal,  the  personal  over  against  all  the  crass  forces  of  the 
so-called  material  world.  At  times  the  world  in  its  wisdom 
has  laughed  at  the  very  idea  of  these  immaterial  forces,  which 
it  called  creatiu-es  of  fancy,  such  as  ideaUsm,  prayer,  hope. 
But  never  has  force  —  crass,  material,  consciousless,  brutal 


62      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

force  been  so  focused  as  it  has  in  this  world  conflict.  The 
world  has  had  a  chance  to  see  force  displayed  to  the  very  limit 
of  human  invention  and  resource.  It  has  been  a  riot  of  crass, 
material  force.  But  what  say  the  leaders  ?  Admiral  Jellicoe, 
when  head  of  the  British  Navy,  said  in  effect :  ''We  need  more 
prayers.^^  Admiral  Beatty,  who  succeeded  him,  said:  "We 
need  a  revival  in  religion."  It  is  said  that  when  news  came 
in  1914  that  the  German  hordes  were  stopped  in  their  trium- 
phant march  toward  Paris,  Lord  Roberts  said  to  Kitchener, 
*'Only  God  Almighty  could  have  done  this,"  and  Kitchener 
replied,  ''Somebody  must  have  been  praying!"  Sir  William 
Robertson,  when  heading  the  British  war  machine  in  England, 
said: 

"I  fear  that  even  yet  too  many  of  us  are  putting  an  undue 
amount  of  trust  in  chariots  and  horses.  We  may  confi- 
dently rely  on  our  soldiers  and  sailors  fighting  bravely,  and 
count  upon  having  abundant  ammunition,  but  we  must 
not  stop  at  that.  ...  A  serious  determination  on  the  part 
of  the  nation  to  seek  and  deserve  divine  help  would,  we 
may  hope,  enable  us  to  take  a  true  perspective  of  the  War, 
and  it  would  undoubtedly  furnish  valuable  help  to  our 
gallant  sailors  and  soldiers  at  the  front." 

The  statesmen  of  the  allied  countries  are  equally  explicit. 
They  insist  that  every  moral  and  spiritual  triumph  is  a  greater 
gain  than  a  successful  battle.  The  proclamations  of  gover- 
nors of  many  states  in  the  United  States  tell  this  same  story. 
Here  is  the  message  of  Governor  Holcomb  of  Connecticut  at 
Easter  1918: 

"We  should  be  willing  to  make  whatever  sacrifice  is  nec- 
essary to  ensure  the  preservation  of  human  liberty.  I  there- 
fore, appoint  ...  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  and 
request  that  all  of  the  people  of  this  state  bend  the  knee 
to  Almighty  God  and  fervently  and  devoutedly  pray  for  the 
success  of  our  cause  ...  a  conclusive  victory  and  that  a 
permanent  peace  be  estabhshed." 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  63 

And  what  is  morale?  The  greatest  victory  of  all  is  to 
break  down  the  morale  of  the  enemy;  the  surest  sign  of  victory 
is  the  high  morale  of  one's  army.  It  is  a  spiritual  quality. 
An  army  of  high  morale  and  spiritual  force  is  unconquerable. 
Again  and  again  military  leaders  have  asserted  "the  all- 
important  factor  is  the  morale  of  the  men.''  This  is  why  the 
backing  of  the  folks  at  home  is  so  important  and  why  loyalty 
on  their  part  wins  wars.  Morale  is  spiritual  force.  It  is  this 
spiritual  force  that  insures  victory,  not  only  in  the  Army,  but 
also  in  life  and  in  any  worthy  undertaking. 

One  of  the  most  enlightening  studies  in  the  last  days 
of  the  War  and  the  first  days  of  peace  was  that  of  the 
great  newspapers,  such  as  the  London  Times,  New  York 
Tribune,  Toronto  Globe,  and  many  others  of  their  standing. 
Their  pages,  news  and  editorial  alike,  are  openly,  persistently, 
consciously,  explicitly  teaching  great  spiritual  truths. 

8.  One  other  contribution  comes  alone  from  religion  — 
that  is,  dynamic.  One  may  have  desires  and  hopes,  but  too 
often  he  cannot  put  them  into  effect  until  he  gets  in  touch 
with  God.  As  witness  let  us  call  the  thousands  of  drunkards 
and  others  who  had  sunk  very  low  in  sin.  They  were  im- 
potent until  some  "Power"  came  into  their  lives.  Then 
came  inner  unity  and  harmony  and  a  new  purpose.  It  is 
equally  true  of  good  people.  John  Wesley's  fruitless  ministry 
gave  place  to  a  revival  that  shook  the  nations  when  the  new 
dynamic  came.  We  all  know  these  facts  from  our  own  ex- 
perience and  from  the  testimony  of  untold  numbers  of 
other  people. 

The  same  is  true  of  organizations  and  of  nations.  An 
irreUgious  nation  can  never  be  truly  good  or  permanently 
great.  Carlyle  was  not  prejudiced  in  favor  of  orthodox 
religion,  but  this  is  what  he  said: 

"There  has  never  yet  been  a  nation  that  did  anything 
great  in  the  world  that  was  not  deeply  religious.  Men  of  a 
praying  disposition  are  to  be  envied;  not  because  they  get 
answers  to  their  prayers,  but  because  when  a  man  really 


64      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

prays  he  judges  his  own  conduct,  and  nothing  in  it  mean  or 
base  escapes  him,  and  this  stimulates  him  to  honesty  and 
activity  .  .  .  The  conviction  is  borne  in  on  a  man  that, 
through  the  mystery  and  darkness,  everything  is  ruled  by 
One  most  wise  and  most  good;  and  he  learns  to  say  in  his 
heart:  'Thy  wiU  be  done/" 

Recall  Punches  striking  cartoon  of  Belgium.  By  opposing 
her  puny  strength  to  the  mighty  force  of  the  Hun,  she  had 
lost  all  —  but  not  her  soul!  Remember  also  the  warning  of 
prophets,  priests,  and  laymen  in  the  United  States  against 
that  nation's  losing  her  soul,  though  she  should  gain  the 
wealth  of  the  whole  world  by  remaining  out  of  the  War. 
Nations,  as  truly  as  individuals,  need  God  to  give  the  moral 
and  spiritual  power,  dynamic,  to  carry  out  great  ideals  and 
be  a  mighty  force  for  good  in  the  world.  It  is  not  by  chance 
that  the  nations  today  which  stand  for  most  are  Christian. 
It  is  because  either  the  leading  nations  adopt  Christianity  or 
Christianity  gives  them  leadership.  Both  reasons  place 
Christianity  in  the  forefront  as  a  national  asset. 

9.  One  final  contribution  of  religion  must  not  be  over- 
looked. It  develops  worthy  motives.  It  touches  the  inner 
springs  of  life  so  that  the  life  is  guided  by  its  best  and  highest 
aims.  It  is  not  a  veneer.  Ordinary  education  may  develop 
mental  ability,  but  leave  the  purposes  of  life  low  and  base. 
But  the  Christian  religion  touches  the  source  and  all  the  life 
is  changed.  And  its  compelling  motives  are  love  to  God 
shown  forth  in  loving  service  and  good  will  to  men. 

These  considerations  show  something  of  the  distinctive 
place  and  power  of  religion  in  private  and  national  life.  The 
essential  purpose  of  religion  is  to  secure  the  development  of 
each  person  to  his  highest  and  best.  No  one  can  live  his  best 
life  or  attain  to  anything  like  his  possibilities  as  a  moral  and 
spiritual  force  who  does  not  have  fellowship  with  God  as  He 
is  revealed  in  Christ,  or  who  does  not,  in  His  spirit,  work  with 
or  for  his  fellows.  Religion,  therefore,  seeks  to  lead  each  one 
into  intimate,  personal  fellowship  with  the  Father;   to  help 


PLACE  AND  POWER  OF  RELIGION  65 

each  one  to  be  an  efficient  member  of  society  working  for  the 
good  of  the  whole,  so  that  the  community,  the  social  order 
itself,  shall  be  Christian  and  promote  not  selfish  ends  and 
vested  interests,  but  the  common  good.  This  is  the  spirit 
which  exists  in  the  best  family  life,  where  all  dwell  together 
in  loving  fellowship,  thoughtful  of  each  other's  welfare, 
counting  no  service  a  sacrifice,  and  united  in  loyalty  to  the 
Father  and  in  the  zealous  support  of  his  purposes.  ReUgion 
is  the  only  power  that  can  do  this.  It  has  done  it  in  countless 
himian  fives;  it  is  working  out  its  purposes  in  community 
and  national  life.  Of  all  the  forces  at  work  it  is  the  most 
fundamental  and  potential.  Every  student,  if  he  loves  his 
country  and  his  f eUowmen,  should  study  to  know  how  he  can 
make  his  biggest  contribution  to  the  spiritual  forces  that 
redeem  men  and  nations. 

Now  think  back  over  the  forces  at  work  as  outlined  in  the 
last  chapter.  AU  are  of  the  utmost  value.  We  must  do 
everything  we  can  to  support  them.  But  is  it  not  so  that, 
alone,  they  fail  to  touch  the  heart  of  the  problem?  Suppose 
everyone  were  weU  educated  and  lived  in  a  good  home;  that 
playgrounds  and  parks  abounded;  that  health  were  good, 
wages  high,  and  prices  reasonably  low  —  aU  conditions 
greatly  to  be  desired  —  would  the  problem  be  solved,  would 
people  be  better,  or  the  world  safer  ?  One  nation,  one  hideous 
example,  mocks  us!  Then  think  over  the  contribution 
refigion  has  to  make  as  briefly  sketched  in  this  chapter,  and, 
weighing  the  whole  subject  in  the  most  matter-of-fact  way, 
see  if  its  contribution  is  not  the  essential  one  without  which  no 
real  progress  can  be  made. 

Refigion  is  broader  than  any  one  organization  or  than  all 
organized  refigious  bodies.  It  is  a  great  spiritual  body  —  the 
communion  of  aU  the  befievers.  In  the  New  Testament  it  is 
spoken  of  as  "the  body  of  Christ."  As  God  revealed  Himself 
in  Christ,  so,  in  Christ,  He  reveals  Himself  through  the 
Church.  The  word  ''  Church  "  then,  as  used  in  these  studies, 
means  refigion  in  its  broadest  sense,  but  especiaUy  as  it 


66      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

expresses  itself  in  an  organized  way.  It  includes  the  churches 
or  denominations,  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  the  Salvation 
Army,  and  many  others.  However  far  any  single  reUgious 
institution  may  fall  below  the  ideal,  it  does  stand  for  the 
supremacy  of  spiritual  forces.  It  is  well  at  this  stage  to  ask 
ourselves:  Which  of  all  the  forces  in  any  community  has  as 
its  sole  and  single  purpose  the  service  of  others,  seeking  only 
the  highest  development  and  best  weKare  of  each  one  without 
thought  of  personal  gain?  Which,  with  all  its  Hmitations,  is 
doing  most  to  inspire  right  living?  Which  has  power  to  give 
dynamic  to  a  life,  a  movement,  an  organization,  a  force,  or  a 
nation,  both  to  conceive  noble  ideals  and  to  live  them  out  in 
everyday  life? 

Suggestions  for   Study,   Investigation,   and  Practice 
Work 

1.  Read  Psalms  126  and  115.  How  wonderfully  these 
express  the  experience  of  peoples  on  the  day  of  victory  in  the 
liberated  parts  of  France,  Belgium,  and  Armenia!  They 
grow  out  of  similar  national  experiences.  Read  also  I  Cor. 
15:  53-58,  keeping  in  mind  the  milUons  of  homes  that  were 
bereaved  in  the  German  War. 

2.  Discuss  fully  the  nine  main  points  in  the  chapter, 
making  clear  the  bearing  of  each  one  as  a  factor  in  the  life  of 
the  college  man  and  woman  who  wants  to  serve  humanity 
and  make  the  world  better. 

3.  Having  decided  the  question  raised  in  the  last  two 
paragraphs  of  the  chapter,  what  should  be  my  relation  to 
religion,  to  organized  rehgion,  even  if  I  may  think  that  in 
its  present  organized  form  it  is  far  from  perfect? 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH 

The  function  of  the  local  church  is  to  help  every  person  of 
every  age  and  condition  to  live  his  best  life.  No  one  can  so 
live  who  is  not  bound  up  with  the  great  spiritual  forces  spoken 
of  in  the  last  chapter.  The  student  should  face  these  ques- 
tions now:  Is  it  possible  for  anyone  to  live  his  highest  and  best 
life  without  God  and  apart  from  spiritual  reality?  Can  the 
world  ever  be  safe  and  brotherhood  established  in  all  the  every- 
day affairs  of  men  without  an  unshaken  belief  in  God  and  in 
the  inherent  worth  and  immortal  destiny  of  man?  No  stu- 
dent should  be  content  with  loose  thinking  on  these  funda- 
mental, crucial  points,  because  his  vital  —  not  formal  — 
response  to  these  questions  modifies  his  life  and  work  and  his 
attitude  to  every  other  experience  of  life. 

The  church  building  embodies  concretely  before  us  and  all 
the  world,  faith  in  God  and  in  His  presence  among  us;  faith 
in  the  supremacy  of  the  spiritual  and  in  man's  eternal  worth 
and  destiny;  and  the  call  to  serve  others  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus. 
Just  as  its  spire  catches  the  eye  and  silently  but  constantly 
points  upward;  just  as  no  settlement,  country,  village,  town, 
or  city  looks  complete  without  its  picturesque  features;  so, 
the  ^church  points  to  the  highest  life  and  testifies  that  no  life  is 
complete  without  God  and  spiritual  things.  How  much  the 
world  —  so  much  with  us  —  needs  this  testimony!  J.  H. 
Oldham,  in  his  book  ''The  World  and  the  Gospel,' '  says: 

"The  Christian  Church  is  a  witness  that  there  is  a  world  of 
spiritual  reality  which  faith  can  apprehend.  Through  the 
centuries  multitudes  of  men  and  women  have  trusted  in  the 
God  and  Father  of  Jesus  Christ  and  proved  Him  to  be 

67 


68      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

what  Christ  declared.  .  .  .  The  victory  of  Jesus  is  not  simply 
a  fact  in  past  history.  ...  He  has  opened  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  to  all  who  beHeve  in  Him.  He  is  alive  for  evermore, 
continually  present  in  His  Church  and  dwelling  in  His 
people."  ^  \ 

This  constant,  silent  testimony  is  one  function  at  least 
which  the  Church  inevitably  fulfils  whether  it  is  represented 
in  the  magnificent  cathedral,  the  simple  meeting-house,  the 
chaplain^s,  Salvation  Army,  or  Y  M  C  A  hut;  whether  in  the 
great  congregation,  the  "two  or  three,"  the  Sunday-school 
class,  or  the  family  group.  It  testifies  to  the  real.  And  this 
is  what  Jesus  claimed:  "So  Jesus  cried  aloud,  as  he  was  teach- 
ing in  the  temple,  'You  know  me?  you  know  where  I  come 
from?  But  I  have  not  come  on  my  own  initiative;  I  am  sent, 
and  sent  by  Him  who  is  real.  You  do  not  know  Him  but  I 
know  Him,  because  I  have  come  from  Him  and  He  sent  me' '' 
(John  7:  28,  Moffat's  translation).  That  was  the  world's 
need  in  Jesus'  day;  it  is  the  world's  need  today  —  to  know  Him 
who  is  real! 

For  this  one  reason  every  student  who  longs  to  help 
humanity  must  show  no  uncertainty  as  to  his  attitude  and 
allegiance.  His  attitude  and  allegiance  are  quite  independent 
of  the  quality  of  leadership  and  efficiency  in  the  local  church. 
His  allegiance  is  to  a  Cause,  to  an  Ideal.  For  this  religion, 
embodied  in  the  local  church,  stands.  Whether  one  wills  it 
or  not,  his  attitude  to  all  that  religion  stands  for  will  be  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  by  his  relationship  to  the  local  church. 
And  this  relationship  will  greatly  hearten  or  discourage  the 
godly,  spiritually-minded  residents.  No  amount  of  preach- 
ing or  protesting  will  counteract  an  attitude  of  indifference 
or  opposition.  Every  student  will  do  well  to  ponder  these 
things  carefully.  The  position  is  not  held  that  one  should  be 
content  with  the  church  as  it  may  be  in  any  particular  place. 
Far  from  it.    But  if  improvements  are  necessary,  who  has 


Pages  37  and  216. 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH         69 

such  a  chance  to  promote  them  as  the  college  man  or  woman 
who  has  shown  by  word  and  example  and  by  sympathetic 
cooperation  in  every  good  endeavor  that  he  behoves  in  God 
and  the  supremacy  of  spiritual  things? 

Apart  from  this  constant,  essential  witness  of  the  Church 
to  spiritual  reality,  what  further  functions  has  it?  Is  its 
chief  work  to  keep  its  own  organization  —  or  its  many  or- 
ganizations—  running?  One  might  be  led  to  believe  this 
from  observation  of  some  churches.  The  work  of  the  Church 
is  to  serve  the  community  and  the  world.  Losing  itself  thus,  it 
gains  a  fuller,  richer  life;  living  to  self,  it  loses  its  life.  Pause 
long  enough  to  contrast  organizations  of  these  two  types  as 
shown  in  their  attitude  to  community  conditions,  religious 
education,  and  missions. 

Religion  seeks  to  develop  each  person  to  his  highest  and 
best.  It  is  now  patent  to  everyone  that  no  one  can  exist  in- 
dependent of  social  conditions.  As  society  is  made  up  of 
persons,  so  each  one  is  individually  bound  up  with  society. 
Language,  transportation,  industry,  mail  service,  food,  cloth- 
ing—  everything  testifies  to  this.  The  Church,  therefore, 
beheves  that  success  comes  only  when  the  promotion  of  the 
best  personal  character  and  the  best  social  conditions  go  hand 
in  hand.  It  is  an  easy  matter  to  cite  examples  of  failure  in 
individual  life  through  bad  social  conditions;  of  good  social 
conditions  through  bad  or  weak  character;  and  the  success 
attending  the  promotion  of  both  together. 

It  would  appear  then  that  nothing  that  touches  human  life  is 
alien  to  the  Church,  This  does  not  mean  that  it  should  per- 
form all  the  functions  of  society,  but  it  does  mean  it  should 
inspire  society  to  do  its  work  well.  The  Church  at  first 
carried  on  all  the  work  of  education.  Long  since  this  has 
been  taken  over  by  society.  Yet  the  Church  is  still  imder 
obligation  to  see  that  every  child  gets  a  good  education.  So 
with  the  administration  of  justice,  charity,  and  everything 
else  that  makes  for  human  weKare. 

Manifestly,  then,  the  exact  function  of  the  Church  depends 


70      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

on  the  character  and  needs  of  the  community.  In  some 
places,  as  in  China  and  Africa,  the  Church  may  have  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  education,  medicine,  government,  justice,  and 
industry,  as  it  had  to  do  in  the  early  days  in  this  country. 
The  institutional  church  in  a  congested  city  district  may  be 
very  different  from  the  one  in  the  restricted  residential  sec- 
tion; the  Salvation  Army  differs  from  the  country  church,  and 
both  from  the  Young  Men's  or  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association.  But  while  differing  in  detail  the  work  of  the 
Church  may  be  thought  of  imder  the  three  heads  of  Worship 
or  Inspiration,  Instruction,  and  Training.  Its  function  is  to 
inspire,  inform,  impel.  It  must,  however,  be  emphatically 
asserted  that  these  are  not  separate  and  distinct,  but  merely 
qualities  of  the  one  process.  Any  helpful  worship  instructs 
and  gives  mighty  impulse  to  action;  vital  instruction  inspires 
and  stimulates  activity;  work  and  training  should  always  be 
an  inspiration  and  must  help  one  acquire  knowledge.  Yet 
there  is  a  real  distinction  between  these  three  phases  of  work. 
Let  us  examine  each  in  turn. 

1.  Worship  or  Inspiration.  We  have  seen  that  religion  is 
characteristic  of  human  life.  Worship  is  one  of  the  universal 
forms  in  which  reUgion  expresses  itself.  It  is  one  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  life  above  the  brute  stage,  for  was  not  Tennyson 
right  when  he  said: 

"For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friend  ? 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God.^' 

—  "The  Passing  of  Arthur." 

Three  fundamental  ideas  in  Christian  worship  are,  first, 
the  sense  of  the  presence  of  God  as  a  loving  Father  —  "the 
practice  of  the  presence  of  God,"  as  Brother  Lawrence  phrased 
it.    Nothing  can  take  the  place  of  this  Christian  conception. 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH         71 

In  the  terrible  German  War  all  hope  and  faith  and  sanity 
would  have  vanished  had  not  people  had  this  to  cling  to  — 
God,  as  loving  Father,  is  in  the  world  and  all  around  and 
within  us.  If  this  be  so,  the  Right  must  prevail.  Victory 
may  be  delayed,  but  it  is  certain. 

Second,  the  conscious  identifying  of  the  human  will  with  the 
divine  will.  This  does  not  mean  the  surrender,  in  the  sense 
of  the  suppression,  of  the  human  will.  It  means,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  fullest  development  of  the  human  will  until  it 
attains  to  that  height  where  of  free  and  voluntary  choice  it 
accepts  the  highest  as  its  aim  and  proudly  identifies  itself 
with  God  as  revealed  and  incarnated  in  Christ.  Such  a 
partnership  cannot  know  defeat.  Listen  to  the  fellowship 
the  early  disciples  felt.  "It  seemed  good  to  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  to  us"  (Acts  15:  28).  A  common  New  Testament 
phrase  is  "Fellow-workers  with  Christ."  Jesus  taught  this: 
"I  call  you  not  servants  .  .  .  but  I  have  called  you  friends" 
(John  15:  15).  The  Christian  Church  alone  has  the  au- 
dacity of  faith  to  stand  sponsor  for  such  a  conception  of  fel- 
lowship with  God.  The  world  can  never  be  elevated  other- 
wise above  the  material.  As  Jesus  incarnated  the  spirit  of 
God,  so,  the  Church  teaches,  may  we  incarnate  His  spirit. 

Third,  Christian  worship  implies  not  only  the  consciousness 
of  God  as  Father  and  fellowship  with  Him  but  also  the  expres- 
sion of  this  faith  hy  the  person  or  group  worshiping.  One  of 
the  most  precious  opportunities  of  parents,  teachers,  and  the 
Church  is  to  train  others  in  the  adequate  expression  of  their 
attitude  to  God.  One  expresses  this  by  bodily  posture,  by 
prayer,  praise,  singing,  Bible  study,  giving,  and  especially  in 
one's  constant  and  habitual  attitude  to  life.  For  example,  a 
pessimistic,  grouchy  outlook  dims  the  revelation  of  God's 
presence  in  the  world. 

Fourth,  the  outgoing  impulse  to  help  others.  Christian  wor- 
ship can  never  be  selfish.  Prayer  that  one's  own  life  may  be 
better,  for  example,  is  always  in  order  when  the  purpose  is 
that  thereby  we  may  serve  better. 


72      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

Worship  strengthens  and  enriches  life.  A  Hfe  devoid  of 
worship  is  hke  a  flower  without  grace  or  beauty  or  fragrance. 
Such  an  one  is  without  lofty  sentiment  or  the  finer  touch  and 
sensitiveness.  Worship,  communion  with  God,  promotes 
the  best  character  because,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  said, 
it  helps  one  to  see  things  in  their  proper  perspective.  Our  own 
petty  interests  often  bulk  so  large  that  they  blot  out  the 
whole  universe.  Seeing  them  in  the  light  of  the  Eternal 
pm-poses  —  as  we  do,  for  example,  in  prayer  —  they  shrink 
to  something  Uke  their  proper  proportions.  A  frank  ex- 
change of  experiences  among  students  on  this  point  would 
be  of  real  value. 

Again,  it  mobilizes  one^s  moral  and  spiritual  resources.  We 
start  some  endeavor  with  enthusiasm.  The  task  gets  heavy. 
Results  are  disappointing.  Others  fail  us.  The  temptation 
to  quit  is  strong.  We  need  moral  reenforcements.  In  wor- 
ship our  best  self  is,  for  the  time,  in  complete  control.  We 
feel  more  strongly  our  fellowship  with  God  and  with  the  good 
and  great  of  all  ages.  The  struggle  takes  on  new  meaning. 
The  spiritual  seems  the  only  real.  The  divine  purpose  in 
hfe  becomes  clearer.  We  get  a  new  grip  and  go  out  vic- 
torious. This  has  been  the  happy  experience  of  many  after 
a  service  of  public  worship,  or  quiet  meditation  and  prayer. 

Worship  makes  us  feel  our  kinship  with  others — the  solidarity 
of  the  race.  Not  only  do  we  pray  for  the  welfare  of  others, 
but  it  unites  us  in  a  noble  purpose  with  others  and  breaks 
down  caste.  Rich  and  poor,  learned  and  ignorant  are  all 
children  and  brothers.  This  is  one  of  the  beauties  of  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  It  makes  all  one  —  the 
needy  children  of  a  loving  Father. 

Worship  touches  the  will  and  motive.  This  is  fundamental 
in  character  development.  Out  of  the  heart  are  the  issues  of 
life.  Worship  inspires  noble  living,  purifies  life,  elevates 
ideals,  dethrones  pride  and  selfishness,  renews  courage,  and 
unifies  one's  own  life  in  concentrated  purpose.  Through  wor- 
ship we  are  conscious  of  our  unity  with  God  and  with  His 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH         73 

people.  The  life  without  fellowship  with  God  is  of  all  most 
barren  and  desolate. 

It  is  illuminating  to  discuss  the  men  and  women  whom  we 
admire,  to  see  what  place  worship  had  in  their  lives.  One  is 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  no  matter  how  perfect  one  may- 
be physically  or  mentally,  he  is  dwarfed  and  abnormal  unless 
he  has  the  wellspring  and  ennobling  influence  of  worship 
bringing  him  into  fellowship  with  God  and  with  others  as  His 
children. 

The  artists  keeps  before  him  clear  colors  and  looks  at  them 
often  to  keep  his  color  image  correct.  Worship  keeps  the 
spiritual  vision  clear.  The  church  service  with  its  reverence, 
its  song  and  prayer,  its  fellowship,  the  sense  of  God's  presence, 
its  hallowed  memories,  the  consciousness  of  the  high  destiny 
of  man,  of  purpose  in  life,  of  the  supremacy  of  spiritual 
values  —  these  things,  even  apart  from  the  sermon,  are  neces- 
sary to  vigorous  spiritual  health  and  make  possible  the 
promise:  "They  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles;  they 
shall  run  and  not  be  weary;  and  they  shall  walk  and  not 
faint"  (Isa.  40:31). 

Many  claim  they  can  worship  God  better  in  their  automo- 
biles than  in  a  stuffy  church.  But  all  day  long,  up  hill  and 
down  dale,  the  only  time  they  think  of  God  or  mention  His 
name  is  when  a  tire  punctures  or  a  chain  breaks!  The  same 
general  experience  is  true  of  all  who  think  they  will  worship 
better  out-of-doors.  It  is  easy  for  people  to  deceive  them- 
selves, and  the  notion  that  they  can  keep  up  their  spiritual 
life  while  rejecting  the  regular  assembhng  together  for  worship 
is  one  of  the  commonest  and  cheapest  deceptions.  Another 
idea  Uke  it  is  that  Sunday  may  be  spent  as  any  other  day.  It 
is  not  difficult  to  trace  the  growing  coldness,  indifference,  and 
spiritual  decline  of  those  who  absent  themselves  from  service 
or  do  not  keep  Sunday  sacred.  We  need  to  set  aside  some 
time  every  day  and  one  special  day  especially  for  communion 
with  God,  while  keeping  up  that  fellowship  as  we  go  about 
our  work.    In  these  days  of  rush  and  activity  we  need  the 


74      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

poise  and  control  that  come  from  meditation  and  prayer. 
The  trained  college  man  and  woman  know  how  true  this  is. 

2.  Instruction.  Usually  we  underestimate  the  instruction 
given  in  public  worship.  We  often  fail  to  appreciate  how 
much  our  lives  are  enriched  by  the  messages  of  the  hymns, 
stirring  us  deeply  as  they  are  sung  together.  Then,  can  we 
estimate  how  much  of  the  general  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is 
acquired  through  the  impressive  reading  in  church  and  in 
exposition?  It  would  be  reason  enough  to  come  together  to 
read  the  Bible  and  sing.  But  is  it  not  so  that  practically  all 
the  general  knowledge  of  music  is  acquired  through  the  church 
services?  That  is  no  mean  contribution.  The  same  service 
is  being  done  for  art.  The  greater  part  of  what  is  known  of 
foreign  peoples,  customs,  and  countries  has  come  through  the 
Churches  teaching  of  missions.  This,  more  than  anything 
else,  has  taken  away  our  provincialism  and  made  us  citizens 
of  the  world.  How  has  temperance  knowledge  been  dissemi- 
nated? Then  through  the  offerings,  notices,  societies,  and 
general  work,  knowledge  is  obtained  of  all  the  Churches  vast 
concerns,  at  home  and  abroad,  and  its  activities  are  foimd 
to  be  greater,  in  volume,  extent,  and  ramij&cations,  than  al- 
most any  other  enterprise.  Besides  all  these  forms  of  in- 
struction the  sermon  is  a  great  educational  power.  There  are 
those  who  speak  slightingly  of  the  sermon.  Granted  that  at 
times  it  may  be  below  par.  Yet  compared  with  the  regular 
addresses  in  any  other  organization,  such  as  business  or  poli- 
tics, the  sermons  or  reUgious  addresses  are  vastly  superior. 
Fancy  hstening  to  the  ordinary  poUtician  once  or  twice  a 
week  for  even  three  months!  The  preacher,  who  is  prophet 
as  weU  as  priest,  must  ever  hold  a  place  of  power  and  influence. 
The  living  voice  of  the  public  speaker  wiU  always  maintain  a 
place  of  peculiar  influence  in  disseminating  knowledge. 
From  such  considerations  it  is  evident  that  the  Church  is  one 
of  the  greatest  agencies  for  the  propagation  of  knowledge. 

But  in  addition  to  the  regular  services,  every  agency  and 
organization  of  the   Church  gives  instruction.    Think  of 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH        75 

what  has  been  accomplished  by  the  mission  study  classes, 
the  various  societies  of  women,  brotherhoods,  clubs,  circles, 
and  auxiharies.  But  the  great  agency  for  distinct  educa- 
tional work  is  the  Sunday  school.  Because  the  work 
of  religious  education  is  most  important  of  all  it  must  be 
carried  on  as  efficiently  as  in  the  best  school  or  university. 
Wonderful  strides  have  been  made  in  this  direction  within 
recent  years.  The  Hve  Sunday  school  of  today  (and  it  is 
equally  true  of  the  church)  is  very  different  from  that  of  ten 
or  twenty  years  ago  and  must  not  be  judged  by  what  it  then 
was.  All  of  Chapter  VII  is  given  to  a  discussion  of  oppor- 
tunities of  service  through  the  church  school. 

3.  Training,  The  Church  seeks  not  only  to  inspire  and 
instruct  but  also  to  train  its  people.  Religion  and  life  are  one. 
Separated,  rehgion  is  a  sham  and  life  is  ruined.  The  teach- 
ing of  religion  must,  then,  be  a  training  in  hving.  Inspiration 
that  does  not  issue  in  action  weakens  character.  Instruction 
that  is  abstract,  unrelated  to  life,  is  not  Christian  education. 
The  only  successful  religious  education  is  that  which  results 
in  hving  one^s  daily  life  according  to  the  principles  of  Jesus. 
One  cannot  learn  a  simple  thing  such  as  to  play  a  game  or  to 
bake  a  cake  except  by  training,  doing,  even  if  one  knows  the 
rules  or  recipes  by  heart.  Much  less  can  one  learn  how  to 
live  in  modern  complex  life  except  by  being  trained  in  actual 
life  conditions.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  a  few  verses  by 
heart,  to  have  some  facts,  or  feel  inspired,  though  all  of  these 
things  are  essential.  Along  with  them  must  go  actual  train- 
ing, actual  work,  in  order  that  one  may  acquire  skiU  in  putting 
his  principles  into  practice.  To  bring  out  clearly  how  thor- 
oughly this  is  accepted  now  in  educational  work  consider  the 
complete  revolution  that  has  been  wrought  in  this  respect  in 
the  kindergarten,  pubUc  schools,  technical  schools,  agricul- 
tural colleges,  business  colleges,  and  the  teaching  of  household 
science.  An  accepted  axiom  is  that  conditions  must  be  as 
much  like  actual  life  as  possible.  For  example,  consider  the 
business  college  with  its  bank,  money,  and  business  trans- 


76      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

actions;  the  agricultural  college  with  stock,  farm,  and  orchard; 
the  domestic  science  school  with  its  baking,  sewing,  and 
millinery.  The  contrast  between  these  and  the  old-style 
schools  with  their  abstract,  bookish,  apart-from-life  courses 
is  most  striking.  So,  in  religious  work,  it  is  essential  to  pro- 
vide that  all  instruction  and  inspiration  issue  in  Christian 
activity.  For  this  reason  the  Church  becomes  the  central 
power-house  for  every  form  of  helpful  endeavor  in  the  com- 
munity and  world.  It  cannot  be  otherwise.  The  principles 
of  religion  call  for  the  investment  of  every  life  in  the  service 
of  others  and  in  making  conditions  better.  Something  of  how 
the  Church  is  succeeding  will  be  shown  in  the  next  chapter 
on  ''  Opportunities  for  Service  through  the  Church." 

By  training,  the  person  is  led  to  apply  the  truth  in  his  own 
life  and  to  work  out  for  himself  his  own  problems  in  the  light 
of  that  teaching.  Our  work  fails  most  of  all  in  this  —  and  it 
is  as  true  of  ordinary  education  as  of  religious  education  — 
that  the  thing  taught  does  not  function  in  life.  Now  char- 
acter shows  itself  in  everything  that  one  does  or  thinks.  In 
our  thinking  we  divide  things  up  into  sacred  and  secular; 
personal  and  social;  home  and  foreign;  and  similar  classifica- 
tions. These  divisions  are  entirely  artificial  and  merely  for 
convenience.  They  have  done  harm.  People  have  actually 
come  to  feel  that  they  may  be  religious  by  times  or  in  certain 
activities  only;  that  the  personal  life  may  be  good  but  not  the 
social  life  or  vice  versa;  that  one  may  be  religious  but  not 
missionary.  It  helps  us  to  get  down  to  basal  things  to  see 
that  character  is  one,  a  unity,  and  that  it  expresses  itself  in 
every  activity.  As  the  "heart,"  the  person  himself,  is,  so 
is  his  hfe.  No  amount  of  disguise  can  make  it  otherwise. 
One  may  deceive  himself  and  others  —  as  often  happens  — 
by  profession  or  by  apparently  good  deeds,  but  fundamentally 
his  character  remains  unchanged.  Appearances  do  not 
change  fundamentals.  Now  it  is  religion  alone,  as  was 
pointed  out  in  the  last  chapter,  that  can  touch  the  inner 
motive  and  will,  that  can  change  the  source.    The  inner  life 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH         77 

—  the  real  seK  —  reveals  or  expresses  itself  in  every  thought 
and  action,  and  training  must  provide  channels  for  this  ex- 
pression in  adequate  Christian  activities. 

But  for  the  sake  of  concreteness  we  can  think  of  one  ex- 
pressing or  reveaUng  himself. 

a.  In  personal  life.^  Religion  must  train  each  one  in  per- 
sonal habits  and  self-control.  The  daily  reading  of  the  Bible 
and  prayer  or  the  morning  watch,  is  so  important  that  no  one 
who  is  intelligent  can  afford  to  omit  the  practice.  Personal 
purity  is  essential  for  self-respect.  Without  it  one  is  a 
malignant  plague-spot.  So  one  must  have  courage  to  do 
right,  decision  of  character,  which  comes  only  through  train- 
ing in  making  choices  and  decisions,  and  in  putting  one's  de- 
cision into  practice  —  that  is,  in  exercising  the  will.  Each  one 
needs  to  be  trained  in  friendship  through  having  chums  and 
friends  and  in  ministering  to  them.  The  Christian  —  who 
must  be  a  good  citizen  —  must,  because  of  his  religion,  have 
courage  and  faith  and  not  be  a  pessimist.  Rev.  Howard 
Walter  in  "A  Book  of  Friendship"  has  summed  up  a  great 
deal  in  the  following  little  poem,  the  thought  of  which  is  the 
desire  of  all  who  try  to  live  right: 

"I  would  be  true,  for  there  are  those  who  trust  me; 
I  would  be  pure,  for  there  are  those  who  care; 
I  would  be  strong,  for  there  is  much  to  suffer; 
I  would  be  brave,  for  there  is  much  to  dare; 
I  would  be  friend  to  all  —  the  foe,  the  friendless; 
I  would  be  giving  and  forget  the  gift; 
I  would  be  humble,  for  I  know  my  weakness; 
I  would  look  up,  and  laugh,  and  love,  and  lift." 

b.  In  the  community.  Work  done  to  help  others  in  one's 
neighborhood  or  to  improve  conditions  is  often  spoken  of  as 
social  service.    Every  comimunity  offers  many  opportunities 


2  Just  to  see  how  impossible  it  is  to  separate  public  and  private 
life  let  the  reader  or  the  class  name  one  sin  that  is  purely  personal 
and  does  not  affect  one  or  more  other  persons! 


78      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

for  training  in  helpfulness  and  in  making  conditions  better. 
It  is  absolute  stone-blindness  that  permits  any  religious  or- 
ganization to  teach,  without  training  its  people  actually  to 
put  into  practice  in  the  comnaunity  the  truth  presented. 
When  all  our  religious  bodies  see  the  significance  of  training, 
every  such  body  will  be,  in  effect  as  well  as  in  potentiahty,  a 
power-house  for  every  upbuilding  influence  and  forward 
movement. 

c.  In  the  world.  The  world  is  but  a  large  community. 
Foreign  mission  work  differs  not  a  whit  from  social  service  or 
home  mission  or  community  work.  It  is  all  an  attempt  to 
help  others  and  to  make  conditions  better.  No  one  can  be 
educated  who  is  ignorant  of  or  indifferent  to  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  he  cannot  be  a  Christian  without  doing  his  best  to 
help  whenever  that  help  is  needed.  So  the  Church  —  for 
many,  many  years  the  only  agency  to  do  this  —  seeks  to 
train  its  people  in  loving  care  and  sympathy  for  all  peoples  in 
the  world,  by  training  them  in  praying,  giving,  working  for 
other  peoples.  'I 

At  the  present  time  the  needs  of  the  world  are  great  enough 
to  call  out  every  atom  of  love  and  service  in  the  hearts  of  all 
the  people.  There  is  the  reconstruction  and  rebuilding  of  all 
the  lands  blighted  and  cursed  by  the  touch  of  the  Hun;  the 
care  of  thousands  of  orphans  whose  parents  were  done  to 
death  and  all  their  goods  destroyed  or  carried  away;  the  find- 
ing and  caring  for  multitudes  of  destitute,  crazed,  wounded, 
and  maimed;  besides  the  similar  and  even  greater  work  of  the 
same  kind  in  non-Christian  lands  where  the  curse  of  sin  has 
been  doing  the  same  work  throughout  the  centuries. 

Now  (1918)  for  four  or  five  years  in  Britain  and  Canada 
and  in  other  of  the  Allied  countries,  and  for  two  years  in  the 
United  States,  men  and  women  have  been  putting  their  whole 
heart  and  soul  into  work  for  others  —  in  the  ranks,  through 
the  Red  Cross,  and  many  other  forms  of  service.  During 
the  War  the  old,  narrow  self-centered  life  and  outlook  have 
given  place  to  a  forgetfulness  of  self  and  a  giving  of  resources, 


FUNCTION  OF  THE  LOCAL  CHURCH         79 

energy,  time,  and  self  for  others.  It  was  all  focused  and 
unified  by  a  great  patriotic  fervor.  It  would  be  nothing  less 
than  a  calamity  to  civiUzation  if  these  people  who  have  caught 
a  ghmpse  and  enjoyed  a  taste  of  unselfish  living  should  slump 
back  into  the  old  narrow,  selfish  grooves  again.  It  must  be 
the  endeavor  of  everyone  who  has  ideals  of  race  development 
and  better  conditions  in  the  world  to  strive  with  might  and 
main  to  conserve  all  this  mighty  torrential  force  of  altruism, 
to  direct  it  into  adequate  channels,  and  to  maintain  all  its 
momentum  by  presenting  moral  equivalents  of  war  and  of  the 
fusing  power  of  patriotism.  If  this  can  be  done  the  brother- 
hood of  nations  and  good  will  to  men  will  be  assured.  Here 
is  a  worth-while  task  for  idealistic  young  men  and  women! 
Is  there  any  appeal  with  an  adequate  motive  or  program  to 
unite  all  right-thinking  people  except  that  of  the  Christian 
religion?  What  motive  can  compare  with  that  set  forth  in 
the  Sermon  —  or  rather  the  Teaching  —  on  the  Mount,  and 
what  program  with  that  which  Christ  gave  to  His  disciples? 

Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation,  and  Practice 
Work 

1.  Read  Matt.  5:1-7:  29;  28 :  16-20.  Ponder  these 
words  in  the  light  of  the  present  world  situation  and  its  real, 
permanent  betterment. 

2.  Students  who  are  specially  interested  in  the  inner  nature 
of  the  Church  are  referred  to  J.  H.  Oldham^s  ^'The  World  and 
the  Gosper^;  and  all  are  advised  to  secure  for  themselves  and 
to  study  Fosdick's  "The  Meaning  of  Prayer." 

3.  Is  it  possible  for  anyone  to  five  his  best  life  without  fel- 
lowship with  God? 

4.  What  is  the  value  of  worship  to  one  who  is  busy  every 
minute  of  the  day  trying  to  promote  social  improvements  and 
to  do  worth  while  work? 

5.  Discuss  the  upbuilding  value  of  the  local  church  through 
worship,  instruction,  and  training  in  any  district  you  know 


80      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

well.  What  is  the  value  to  a  college  man  or  woman  of  the 
quiet  worship  and  fellowship  in  worship  of  the  regular 
church  service? 

6.  Take  any  community  and  by  actual  investigation  find 
out  accurately  how  many  have  t^ken  up  any  definite  work  for 
others  at  home  or  abroad  and  estimate  what  influence  the 
church  —  religion  —  had  in  each  case. 

7.  If  Howard  Walter's  little  poem  expresses  the  desire  of 
young  men  and  women,  is  not  rehgion  necessary  to  the 
fulfilment  of  this  ambition? 

8.  If  one  really  visualizes  the  mighty  needs  of  the  world  to- 
day and  his  own  limitations,  must  he  not  first  take  refuge  in 
Dod  and  then  dedicate  himself  to  the  service  of  others? 


CHAPTER  VII 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  SERVICE  THROUGH 
THE  CHURCH 

This  course  assumes  that  every  wholesome  young  man  and 
young  woman  wants  to  make  the  best  investment  of  his  or  her 
life.  It  set  forth  the  thesis  that  the  only  investment  that  is 
worth  while  is  by  living  a  clean,  strong  life  through  companion- 
ship with  God,  to  help  others  and  to  make  conditions  of  life 
better.  An  attempt  was  then  made  to  sketch  briefly  the 
actual  situation  today.  This  in  itself  brings  an  imperative 
challenge  to  serve.  But  it  was  pointed  out  that  in  this 
undertaking  one  does  not  stand  alone,  that  there  are  great 
forces  everywhere  with  which  one  may  ally  himself  and 
through  which  he  may  work.  One  of  these,  the  greatest,  is 
religion.  The  place  and  function  of  religion  were  next  con- 
sidered. The  present  chapter  seeks  to  discuss  the  question 
whether  the  best  opportunity  for  service  and  cooperation  with 
other  forces  is  not  through  the  local  church. 

Organized  religion  is  the  most  universal  and  important  of 
all  the  upbuilding  forces.  It  is  found  in  every  comer  of  the 
land.  Its  organization  is  adaptable  to  all  conditions.  It 
always  has  the  allegiance  of  high-souled,  devoted  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  who  are  anxious  to  serve  without  any 
selfish  end  in  view. 

But  one  may  say,  "What  I  want  to  do  is  social  work,  help 
people  directly  and  many  churches  have  nothing  to  do  with 
social  conditions.  They  claim  that  their  work  is  to  'preach 
the  Gospel.'  '^  Such  an  attitude  on  the  part  of  any  church  is 
largely  due  to  the  following  causes: 

1.  An  outgrown  conception  that  the  Church  deals  with 
81 


82      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

only  one  narrow  phase  of  life.  Religion  ministers  to  the 
whole  of  life.  As  Watson  says  in  "Social  Problems  and  the 
Churches  Duty  ^': 

"The  Church  stands  and  must  ever  stand  for  the  reahty 
and  permanence  of  spiritual  needs.  Man  is  essentially  a 
spiritual  being  and  cannot  live  by  bread  alone.  He  can 
never  outgrow  his  need  of  a  church,  his  need  of  worship  and 
prayer  and  spiritual  aspiration.  If  he  did  so  he  would 
cease  to  be  a  man  and  reel  back  into  the  beast.  And  yet  it 
is  not  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  people  that  first  impress  one 
who  moves  about  among  them.  It  is  their  material  needs, 
their  insecure  hold  on  the  very  necessaries  of  life.  And  it  is 
material  needs  they  are  most  conscious  of." 

The  Church  now  recognizes  that  everything  that  touches 
the  material,  mental,  social,  and  religious  interests  of  people 
is  its  special  concern. 

2.  Failure  to  grasp  the  fact  that  the  individual  has  no 
existence  apart  from  the  social  organism.  Life  is  bound  up 
indissolubly  with  others  and  with  material  and  social  condi- 
tions. It  is  not  Christian  and  not  wise  merely  to  preach  to 
starving  people.  A  saloon  can  undo  the  effect  of  many 
sermons. 

3.  Ignorance  of  actual  conditions.  When  men  and  women 
of  spiritual  vision  are  brought  into  direct  contact  with  those 
who  are  in  misery,  poverty,  or  pain,  or  are  unjustly  treated, 
there  is  no  question  as  to  what  the  attitude  of  the  Church 
should  be.  But  many  good  people  —  and  especially  those 
who  oppose  a  social  gospel  —  are  ignorant  of  conditions.  In 
the  first  tremendous  dislocation  of  business  caused  by  the 
Great  War  a  group  of  Christian  people  in  Edmonton,  Alberta, 
asserted  indignantly  that  there  were  no  unemployed  in  the 
city.  At  that  moment  there  were  1,000  men  out  of  work. 
A  few  photographs  of  bad  housing  conditions  were  shown  in 
Charlottetown,  P.  E.  Island.  Most  people  thought  they  were 
from  New  York  or  London  or  some  other  metropolis  and 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  83 

could  not  believe  there  were  such  places  in  their  own  beautiful 
city.  The  same  reaction  will  be  secured  in  almost  every 
town  or  small  city  where  a  survey  is  made  for  the  first  time. 
Naturally,  citizens  who  do  not  know  conditions  see  no  need 
of  a  social  gospel  and  can  have  little  or  no  enthusiasm  for  any 
improvement  campaign.  Every  student  should  ask  himself 
whether  he  knows  conditions  in  his  own  home  community 
and  also  his  college  town.  Arrangements  should  be  made  to 
accompany  some  social  worker  who  knows  the  conditions. 

4.  A  mistaken  view  of  "the  Gospel/'  identifying  it  with  a 
certain  type  of  preaching  and  with  keeping  the  institution 
running.  But  this  is  not  nor  has  it  ever  been  the  conception 
the  Church  had  of  its  mission  as  the  following  considerations 
will  suggest. 

a.  It  is  not  the  view  of  the  Old  Testament.  Prophets  and 
teachers  burst  out  in  intense,  burning  messages  about  social 
injustice,  the  grinding  down  of  the  poor,  oppression,  low 
wages,  cruelty,  and  extortion.  Compare  Isa.  1 :  12,  17; 
Amos  8 :  4-7;  Mic.  6 :  11-13  and  many  other  passages. 
There  are  all  sorts  of  laws  in  the  Old  Testament  relating 
to  employers'  liability,  safety,  sanitation,  and  quarantine, 
capital  and  labor,  leisure,  land-tenure,  and  kindred  subjects. 

b.  The  life  and  teaching  of  Jesus  are  largely  concerned 
with  social  conditions  which  He  knew  at  first  hand.  Recall 
His  never-to-be-forgotten  teaching  by  burning  word  and 
more  eloquent  deed  concerning  the  poor,  the  sick,  the  down- 
trodden, the  outcast,  the  prodigal;  and  His  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  farming,  fishing,  and  taxes.  Notice  His  terrible 
denunciation  of  evil  (Matt.  23  :  25,  26) ;  his  driving  out  of  the 
grafters  (Mark  11 :  15-17);  his  Gospel  for  the  twelve  (Matt. 
10 :  5  e^  seq) .  He  makes  the  final  test  of  life  how  we  invest  our 
lives  for  others  (Matt.  25  :  40,  45). 

c.  The  early  Church  concerned  itself  directly  with  social 
conditions.  One  of  its  first  organizations  had  to  do  with 
social  service  (Acts  6  :  3-6).  The  Church  Fathers  give  many 
examples  of  the  same  kind.    Kingsley  in  "Hypatia''  lets  in 


84      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

an  interesting  side-light  on  the  place  community  problems 
had  in  the  church  of  the  fifth  century.  Cyril  of  Alexandria, 
speaking  of  his  engagements,  says : 

"Now,  then,  let  me  see:  five  minutes  for  these  Jews; 
then  an  hour  to  look  over  the  hospital  accounts;  an  hour 
for  the  schools;  a  half  hour  for  the  reserved  cases  of  distress; 
another  half  hour  for  myself;  and  then  di^dne  service." 

d.  It  is  well  known  that  churches  and  monasteries  of  the 
Middle  Ages  were  centers  for  rehef  and  rescue  work,  care  of 
the  sick,  industry,  justice,  education,  and  art. 

e.  The  modem  foreign  mission  movement,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  early  years  of  the  Christian  era,  believes  that  its  minis- 
try is  to  every  part  of  human  life  and  social  conditions. 
Among  the  missionaries  sent  out  are  not  only  preachers  but 
doctors,  nurses,  school  teachers,  builders,  farmers,  engineers, 
and  many  other  social  and  industrial  workers. 

f.  Today  in  the  living  churches  there  is  no  difference  of 
opinion.  The  Church  exists  to  serve  the  community  and  the 
world,  to  spend  and  be  spent  for  others.  The  Salvation  Army, 
the  Y  M  C  A,  the  Y  W  C  A,  and  other  similar  organizations 
always  made  this  their  aim.  The  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  of  America  speaks  in  general  for  the  great 
body  of  evangelical  Christians  in  its  "Social  Ideals"  adopted 
in  1916.    According  to  these  the  churches  stand  for: 

1.  Equal  rights  and  justice  for  all  men  in  all  stations  of  life. 

2.  Protection  of  the  family  by  the  single  standard  of 
purity,  imiform  divorce  laws,  proper  regulation  of  marriage, 
proper  housing. 

3.  The  fullest  possible  development  of  every  child,  espe- 
cially by  the  provision  of  education  and  recreation. 

4.  Abolition  of  child  labor. 

5.  Such  regulations  of  the  conditions  of  toil  for  women  as 
shall  safeguard  the  physical  and  moral  health  of  the  com- 
munity. 

6.  Abatement  and  prevention  of  poverty. 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  85 

7.  Protection  of  the  individual  and  society  from  the  social, 
economic,  and  moral  waste  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

8.  Conservation  of  health. 

9.  Protection  of  the  worker  from  dangerous  machinery, 
occupational  diseases,  and  mortality. 

10.  The  right  of  all  men  to  the  opportunity  for  self- 
maintenance,  for  self-guarding  this  right  against  encroach- 
ments of  every  kind,  for  the  protection  of  workers  from  the 
hardships  of  enforced  unemployment. 

11.  Suitable  provision  for  the  old  age  of  the  workers,  and 
for  those  incapacitated  by  injury. 

12.  The  right  of  employes  and  employers  alike  to  organize; 
and  for  adequate  means  of  conciliation  and  arbitration  in 
industrial  disputes. 

13.  Release  from  employment  one  day  in  seven. 

14.  Gradual  and  reasonable  reduction  of  hours  of  labor  to 
the  lowest  practicable  point,  and  for  that  degree  of  leisure  for 
all  which  is  a  condition  of  the  highest  human  life. 

15.  A  Uving  wage  as  a  minimum  in  every  industry,  and 
the  highest  wage  that  each  industry  can  afford. 

16.  A  new  emphasis  upon  the  application  of  Christian 
principles  to  the  acquisition  and  use  of  property,  and  for  the 
most  equitable  division  of  the  product  of  industry  that  can 
ultimately  be  devised. 

The  most  enthusiastic  student  or  graduate  will  find  this 
program  is  as  broad  and  inclusive  as  anyone  could  demand. 
It  strikingly  resembles  the  historic  program  of  the  British 
Labour  Party,  couched,  as  it  often  is,  in  the  words  of  the 
gospels.  Let  the  student,  of  all  persons,  beware  of  the  fallacy  of 
judging  the  Church  of  today  by  the  past,  or  by  some  isolated 
instance  or  on  hearsay.  The  live  churches  of  today  are  bring- 
ing dynamic  and  enthusiasm  to  every  good  cause.  Numerous 
concrete  examples  will  be  given  in  this  chapter.  The  student 
or  graduate  who  professes  to  want  to  help  others  and  who 
leaves  the  Church  out  of  his  reckoning  is  either  insincere  or 
ignorant  of  what  the  Church  is. 


86      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

The  claim  is  not  made  that  organized  religion  has  always 
been  the  leader  in  every  good  cause  or  that  it  always  recog- 
nized God  in  contemporaneous  events.  It  always  consisted 
of  ordinary,  frail  human  beings.  Sometimes  it  has  opposed 
good  movements  until  they  established  themselves.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  has  almost  invariably  been  true  that  good 
causes  were  championed  by  religious  people  who  had  been 
nurtured  and  quickened  by  the  message  of  the  Church. 
This,  after  all,  is  the  way  an  organization  progresses  — 
through  the  pioneering  of  its  own  children  —  and  is  as  true 
of  education,  law,  medicine,  and  science,  as  of  the  Church. 
Again,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Church  has  pro- 
moted multitudes  of  causes  in  an  uphill  battle  for  years  before 
public  opinion  supported  them. 

These  three  processes,  then,  are  seen  constantly  at  work : 

1.  The  Church  promotes  causes  far  in  advance  of  public 
opinion  and  when  the  case  is  won  hands  over  the  cause  to 
some  other  organ  of  society.  This  happened  in  the  case  of 
education,  prohibition,  and  charity.  A  few  minutes  might 
be  spent  in  tracing  the  history  and  progress  of  these  and  other 
similar  activities. 

2.  The  Church  as  an  organization  opposes  movements, 
;Until  their  inherent  value  establishes  them.  Two  notable 
examples  are  the  Robert  Raikes  Sunday  School  and  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society.  Both  were  at  first  opposed  by 
the  Church,  though,  of  course,  promoted  by  persons  inspired 
by  the  Church's  message.  Now  they  form  an  integral  part 
of  church  work.  Other  examples  may  be  thought  of  as,  for 
example,  the  labor  movement.  In  almost  every  case  these 
causes  are  promoted  by  persons  who  were  inspired  by  religious 
influences. 

3.  The  Church  cooperates  heartily  with  reform  movements. 
This  is  particularly  true  in  our  own  day.  Each  reader  will 
take  time  to  recall  several  examples  from  his  own  experience. 

The  Church  promotes  and  assists  every  good  cause,  directly 
or  indirectly,  in  the  following  ways: 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  87 

a.  The  Church  seeks  to  bring  each  person  into  fellowship 
with  God  as  Father  and  with  men  as  brothers.  This  means 
high  ideals  of  personal  purity  and  social  helpfulness.  These 
principles  cut  the  roots  of  all  social  injustice.  People  holding 
them  simply  cannot  long  endure  to  see  their  fellows  wronged. 
The  experience  of  Zaccheus  with  its  many  modem  counter- 
parts; the  changes  that  took  place  in  a  generation  in  the  New 
Hebrides  —  from  cannibalism  to  Christian  citizenship;  the 
history  of  slavery  and  of  responsible  government  are  examples 
of  this  fact. 

b.  What  the  Church  aims  to  do  for  individuals  it  aims  to 
do  for  every  agency  that  affects  human  life.  Students  should 
get  a  clear  idea  of  such  things.  Religious  influences  have 
succeeded  in  changing:  college  life  and  sport,  conditions  on 
the  railroad  and  in  lumber  and  construction  camps,  life  in 
the  slums  and  in  shops  and  factories,  politics  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice;  and  have  conducted  the  long,  con- 
sistent, effective  fight  against  the  saloon  and  all  sorts  of  vice. 

c.  The  inherent  tendency  of  religion  is  to  unite  all  forces  in 
the  spirit  of  service.  Many  churches  have  succeeded  pretty 
well  in  doing  this  in  their  own  sphere.  But  it  is  true  that 
denominationalism  has  been  in  some  cases  a  dividing  force. 
At  the  present  time,  however,  the  spirit  of  unity  is  coming  to 
its  own  in  a  broader  appreciation  of  extra-church  forces  and 
of  other  denominations.  Witness  the  close  fellowship 
between  the  Salvation  Army,  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
the  Protestant  denominations,  the  Kiiights  of  Columbus, 
and  Jewish  societies;  in  the  many  unions  of  different  con- 
gregations in  the  community;  the  larger  movement  for  or- 
ganic union  of  denominations,  especially  in  Canada;  the 
absence  of  all  denominational  bitterness,  as  is  evidenced  in 
the  Federal  Coimcil  of  Churches,  the  Sunday  School  Council 
of  Evangelical  Denominations;  and  the  close  cooperation 
among  evangelical  churches.  One  case  will  illustrate  the 
last  point.    In  one  district  of  northern  Ontario,  by  close 


88      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

cooperation  between  the  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  each 
has  saved  over  forty  ministers  and  over  $25,000,  while  each 
ministers  to  fully  one-third  more  people  more  effectively  and 
missionary  contributions  have  increased  one  hundred  per 
cent.  There  is  no  overlapping  and  each  congregation  has 
its  own  definite  territory  and  a  worth-while  piece  of  work  to 
do.  Such  cooperation  is  in  effect  all  the  way  from  Ontario 
to  the  Pacific  Coast.  Similar  attempts  are  being  made  in 
the  United  States.  Suspicion  and  friction  between  denomina- 
tions are  practically  things  of  the  past. 

d.  The  Church's  chief  contribution  comes  through  inspir- 
ing leadership  and  creating  public  opinion.  No  improvement 
can  be  carried  out  until  people  are  educated  and  a  great  mass 
of  public  opinion  has  been  created  and  leadership  inspired. 

The  Church  has  succeeded  in  inspiring  leadership.  When 
tempted  to  think  that  the  best  social  work  is  being  done 
outside  the  Church  it  is  well  to  ponder  the  significance  of  the 
following  from  Rev.  D.  Watson's  "Social  Problems  and  the 
Church's  Duty": 

"There  is  scarcely  a  philanthropic  agency  which  is  not 
worked  by  church  members.  Take,  for  example,  the  excel- 
lent 'Handbook  of  Glasgow  Charitable  and  Beneficent  In- 
stitutions.' It  contains  accounts  of  292  Societies,  Institu- 
tions, or  Charities  representing  ameliorative  and  benevolent 
efforts  on  behalf  of  inebriates,  prisoners,  fallen  women,  the 
aged,  the  bhnd,  the  deaf,  the  dumb,  the  incurable,  orphans 
and  widows,  indigent  soldiers  and  sailors,  consumptives, 
epileptics  and  convalescents,  the  defective  and  feeble-minded, 
and  every  one  of  these  agencies  is  carried  on  by  members  of 
the  churches  who,  it  may  be  presumed,  have  drawn  their 
inspiration  from  the  churches  with  which  they  are  con- 
nected. It  is  the  rarest  thing  to  find  anyone  who  is  not  a 
church  member  taking  part  in  this  unselfish  work."  ^ 

At  first  the  above  may  astonish;  but  take  any  specific 
case,  as  for  example.  Red  Cross  work,  or  any  great  war  drive 

1  Pages  141,  142. 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  89 

or  other  helpful  undertaking.  Where  and  by  whom  has  most 
of  it  been  done?  Or,  test  it  by  the  reverse.  Do  atheism, 
unbelief,  materialism,  impel  to  social  service?  Try  to  make 
a  Ust  of  hospitals,  orphanages,  homes,  and  movements  for 
social  good  so  inspired  and  supported!  One  is  suddenly 
faced  with  a  great  void.  It  helps  us  to  appreciate  —  and  we 
are  likely  to  need  the  stimulus  —  what  rehgion  means  to  the 
world. 

From  a  great  wealth  of  cases  the  few  following  are  given  to 
indicate  what  surprising  results  come  from  the  investment  of 
effort  through  the  Church  for  the  good  of  others.  It  is  not 
possible  to  give  a  fraction  of  available  examples  taken  from 
all  ranks  of  life. 

In  a  middle-western  city  a  labor  federation  was  formed. 
The  young  minister  became  a  member  and  joined  in  the 
deliberations.  Because  of  his  broad  knowledge  of  conditions 
and  his  intelligent  sympathy,  he  was  made  a  member  of  the 
executive.  No  important  step  was  taken  without  consulting 
him,  no  important  delegation  appointed  on  which  he  was  not 
asked  to  serve.  His  influence  was  thus  brought  to  bear  on 
the  heart  and  center  of  the  movement.  The  whole  labor 
influence  was  swung  into  closer  sympathy  with  moral  and 
religious  forces,  an  acute  situation  was  tempered,  and  a  bitter 
strike  averted.  The  minister  and  his  people  through  their 
cooperation  and  fellowship  served  the  community,  built  up 
the  Kingdom,  and,  of  course,  strengthened  themselves  and 
their  church. 

Just  as  an  example  of  a  great  opportunity  wasted,  consider 
this :  A  minister  continually  grumbled  to  a  visitor  about  the 
roads,  the  poor  farming,  and,  in  general,  most  of  the  prevailing 
conditions  in  his  community,  saying  they  might  easily  be 
improved.  ^'Is  there  a  farmers^  institute?"  he  was  asked. 
''Yes,"  he  replied.  "Are  you  a  member?"  "No,  but  I 
attended  once  or  twice  (slight  pause).  ...  I  gave  them  a 
paper  on  heredity!  "  He  never  gripped  the  situation  nor  his 
opportunity.    He  never  got  closer  to  them  than  an  abstract 


90      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

paper  on  heredity!  He  wonders  his  people  are  not  progressing 
and  that  his  church  is  not  prospering.  It  is  not  hard  to  con- 
trast the  influence  of  the  one  who  identifies  himself  with  a 
movement  with  that  of  one  who  patronizes  or  '' knocks." 

In  a  country  community  in  the  Maritime  Provinces  no 
organized  effort  had  been  made  for  commanity  betterment. 
The  young  physician,  working  through  the  Church,  aroused 
it  to  the  call  to  leadership.  Under  its  direct  influence,  by 
organization  and  inspiration,  the  following  resulted  within 
three  years:  Farmers'  institute,  women's  institute,  women's 
foreign  missionary  society,  Christian  Endeavor,  tennis  club, 
reading  club,  civilian  rifle  club,  lecture  course,  anti-tubercu- 
losis campaign  (resulting  in  swat-the-fly  and  anti-spitting 
campaigns,  and  the  general  use  of  window  and  door  screens), 
a  fine  new  church  built,  grounds  improved,  school  building 
painted  and  decorated,  and  a  strong  committee  formed  of 
leaders  in  both  political  parties  who  pledged  themselves  to 
allow  no  bribery  or  liquor  at  the  election  and  notified  all  can- 
didates to  this  effect,  the  result  being  the  cleanest  election  in 
that  district  in  a  generation. 

In  a  city  in  the  central  states  the  churches  were  divided  in 
the  usual  way.  There  was  no  close  cooperation  between 
them.  A  young  lawyer  with  vision  succeeded  in  organizing 
them  into  a  federation  for  the  study  of  local  problems.  This 
resulted  in  a  social  survey  of  the  city  under  trained  leadership. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  results:  A  number  of  Sunday 
schools  were  reorganized;  several  undesirable  hotels,  really 
saloons,  were  closed;  a  new  public  library  with  a  children's 
department,  then  a  rare  adjunct,  was  opened;  a  city  "clean- 
up" week  was  successfully  carried  out;  household  science  and 
medical  and  dental  inspection  were  introduced  into  the  public 
schools;  strong  candidates  were  nominated  and  a  majority 
elected  to  the  city  council,  resulting  in  better  government  and 
law  enforcements;  and  good  bylaws  were  passed  forbidding 
exposing  of  food  to  flies  and  dust  and  governing  the  handling 
of  milk.    Best  of  all,  the  public  was  educated  and  a  strong 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  91 

public  opinion  created  which  will  increase  and  bear  more 
fruit  year  after  year. 

At  a  summer  school  in  Auburn,  New  York,  the  following 
story  was  told:  A  young  business  man,  a  college  graduate, 
came  to  a  country  village.  There  was  little  or  no  social  life 
and  people  were  not  interested  in  local  improvement.  Get- 
ting in  touch  with  a  few  of  the  people,  he  started  a  reading 
club.  It  grew  in  numbers  and  interest.  Books  accumulated. 
A  ''Front  Lawn"  campaign  started,  leading  to  keen  pride  in 
beautiful  home  surroundings.  A  local  option  triumph  put 
the  hotel  —  a  rum  shop  —  out  of  business.  The  hotel  was 
bought  and  made  into  a  public  library  and  community  center. 
A  few  years  later  the  denominations  agreed  to  the  building 
of  one  conmiunity  church.  Now  there  is  a  united  commu- 
nity, progressive  and  intelligent,  with  well-kept  homes,  a 
delightful  social  life,  and  an  intense  pride  in  school  and  church. 

School  teachers  have  done  revolutionary  work  in  hundreds 
of  cases.  But  one  or  two  examples  must  suffice.  A  new 
principal  came  to  the  consolidated  school  in  a  well-known 
center  in  Manitoba.  Deeply  interested  in  children  and  there- 
fore in  Sunday  school  work,  he  was  able  to  give  just  the  added 
enthusiasm  and  strength  that  the  progressive  local  workers 
needed.  The  Sunday  school  of  his  own  church  was  organized. 
A  Natural  History  Society  developed  into  a  Social  Service 
League.  The  spirit  of  cooperation  was  so  strong  that  the 
Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Churches  united  and  a  consoli- 
dated Sunday  school  resulted,  the  pupils  being  brought  several 
miles  in  vans,  some  pupils  walking  as  much  further  to  meet 
the  vans.  This  resulted  in  better  teachers,  better  grading 
and  attendance,  effective  teacher  training,  and  activities  and 
service  for  the  pupils.  The  community  life  has  received  a 
permanent  uplift. 

It  was  a  ''slip  of  a  girl"  who  came  to  the  school  to  teach. 
Scarcely  anyone  had  ever  gone  from  that  school  to  college. 
Education  was  decidedly  not  popular  and  about  the  only 
interest  shown  in  religion  was  that  the  minister  was  called  in 


92      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

at  marriages  and  deaths.  But  with  the  new  teacher  school 
work  lived!  What  fascinating  mysteries  she  revealed  in 
nature,  what  stories  glowed  in  history,  and  what  journeys 
were  enjoyed  in  geography!  Then  they  did  actual  sewing 
and  cooking  —  boys  and  girls  together  —  while  the  boys  also 
made  new  bits  of  furniture  for  the  school  and  fixed  up  the 
yard.  Within  a  year  the  whole  intellectual  set  and  the 
attitude  to  education  had  changed.  This  could  be  seen 
shining  in  the  faces  of  the  children  and  in  the  fresh  paint  on 
the  school.  The  same  keen  enthusiasm  manifested  itself  in 
her  Sunday  school  class  and  soon  spread  through  the  Sunday 
school.  The  new  Graded  Lessons  made  a  great  improve- 
ment and  several  classes,  within  two  years,  met  regularly 
every  week  to  work  for  others  in  need.  The  lives  of  at  least 
forty  children  were  changed  and  enriched,  by  that  one  normal 
graduate  working  through  the  Church  and  doing  her  own 
school  work  well.  Many  adults  were  also  deeply  influenced. 
That  was  a  life  worth  while. 

As  near  as  one  can  get  the  facts  this  is  the  result  of  a  young 
college  fellow's  organizing  a  Sunday  school  class  of  eleven 
older  boys.  They  were  just  at  the  age  when  some  people 
fancy  boys  have  no  use  for  reUgion.  He  did  not  believe  so 
and  found,  as  everyone  does  who  knows  boys,  that  they  were 
not  interested  in  anything  else  quite  as  deeply  as  in  religion, 
Of  that  class  seven  became  ministers  and  missionaries,  several 
of  them  being  of  exceptional  ability  and  holding  positions  of 
great  influence;  two  are  leading  men  in  the  Y  M  C  A;  one  is  a 
lawyer,  one  of  the  most  honored  laymen  in  his  church.  Of 
the  eleven  only  one  made  a  failure  of  life.  And  perhaps  that 
young  leader  often  thought  of  his  class  as  a  mere  side-line! 
Isn't  it  truer  to  say  that  this  class  was  his  real  life-investment, 
and  his  occupation,  like  Carey's,  but  a  means  of  paying  ex- 
penses ?  One  often  wonders  if  this  is  not  true  of  most  of  us. 
The  incidental  kindness,  thoughtfulness,  sympathy,  and  help 
may  be  our  real  contribution,  the  remembered  or  "unre- 
membered  acts  of  kindness  and  of  love." 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  93 

An  undergraduate  assisted  at  ^'The  Other  Fellows  Boys* 
Club'^  in  Halifax  —  an  outgrowth  of  organized  religion. 
One  of  the  boys  was  noted  for  his  troublesomeness.  This 
student  noticed  the  boy  made  his  figures  nicely.  He  praised 
him  for  it  and  made  him  feel  he  might  be  a  bookkeeper  and 
accountant.  That  was  about  as  much  of  a  vision  to  him  as 
for  most  boys  to  dream  of  becoming  Premier  of  Britain  or 
President  of  the  United  States.  But  the  seed  rooted.  No 
more  trouble  was  experienced  from  ''the  worst  boy  in  the 
club.''  The  boy  was  discovered  to  himself.  It  was  the  first 
glimpse  he  had  ever  been  given  of  what  he  might  become. 
He  started  on  a  new  path  and  made  the  vision  real. 

The  agricultural  representative  has  an  extraordinary  oppor- 
tunity for  service.  One  was  sent  to  a  very  backward  com- 
munity in  the  eastern  states.  Everything  was  down  at  the 
heel  —  farming,  school,  church.  People  were  suspicious  of 
each  other.  Cooperation  was  never  even  dreamed  of.  By 
degrees,  that  seemed  very  slow  to  him,  he  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people.  By  his  own  life  and  example  he  showed 
how  religion  touched  every  part  of  life.  Under  a  revived 
Sunday  school  and  church  and  better  farming  methods, 
courage  revived  and  optimism  drove  out  the  depressing 
clouds.  Cooperative  buying  and  selling,  community  fairs, 
a  good  roads'  association,  a  woman's  institute,  and  similar 
activities  changed  the  complexion  of  the  life  of  the  people. 
But  the  greatest  gains  made  were  in  the  deepened  reUgious 
consciousness  of  the  people,  the  revival  of  family  reUgion,  the 
consequent  closing  of  the  saloon,  the  development  of  the 
children  in  fellowship  with  God,  and  the  voluntary  dedication 
of  every  member  of  his  Sunday  school  class  to  the  service  of 
their  fellowmen  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ. 

President  Butterfield  of  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Col- 
lege gives  many  examples  of  similar  work  done  by  the  local 
church.^    Here  is  one: 


1  "The  Country  Church  and  the  Rural  Problem,"  p.  143. 


94      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

"This  little  parish,  set  high  in  the  nigged  Vosges,  con- 
sisted of  not  over  one  hundred  families.  .  .  .  The  region 
had  for  centuries  been  the  football  of  war,  its  fields  had  been 
harried,  its  manhood  drained  .  .  .  The  people  were  taxed 
far  beyond  their  power  to  pay.  Their  poverty  was  beyond 
description.  They  were  practically  slaves.  They  had  no 
schools  and  were  ignorant  to  a  degree.  Physical  misery 
and  moral  degradation  were  wedded.  Note  the  picture  of 
the  same  parish  half  a  century  later  .  .  .  The  hills  and 
valleys  of  the  Bau-de-la-Roche  had  become  fertile  and  fruit- 
ful. Everywhere  there  were  evidences  of  a  prosperous  agri- 
culture. Every  acre  was  well  tilled.  Each  homestead  had 
its  orchards  and  flower  gardens.  Splendid  mountain  roads 
and  substantial  bridges  gave  access  to  the  great  world  be- 
yond the  hills.  Schools  flourished.  ...  A  local  improve- 
ment society  concerned  itself  with  developing  the  beauty 
about  home  and  farmstead.  An  agricultural  club  flour- 
ished. A  well-ordered  system  of  irrigation  had  been  in- 
stalled. Peace  and  plenty  reigned  supreme.  Thrift  marked 
the  labors  and  savings,  intelligence  directed  the  industry  of 
all.  Simple  but  charming  houses  covered  a  beautiful  family 
life.  Religion  served  to  bind  men  and  women  to  their 
fellows  and  to  their  God." 

Volumes  would  not  suffice  to  tell  of  the  miracles  wrought 
by  visiting  nurses,  household  science  directors,  pastors' 
assistants,  Sunday  school  workers,  social  workers,  and  college 
men  and  women  in  every  walk  and  occupation. 

Standing  before  the  world  welter  as  indicated  in  Chapter  II 
one  sometimes  feels  utterly  helpless.  But  one  must  re- 
member how  near  many  of  the  greatest  forces  are,  in  many 
cases,  to  the  Christian  ideal  and  also  how  one  multiplies  his 
influence  through  organization.  This  is  how  it  is  that  a  small 
number  of  trained  soldiers  have  often  overcome  a  big  body  of 
brave,  well-armed,  but  undisciplined  men;  how  a  team,  in- 
dividually inferior,  "walks  over"  another  untrained  in  team 
play;  how  many  a  good  cause,  approved  by  the  unorganized 
majority,  is  defeated  by  a  few  "interested"  parties.  The 
value  of  organization  is  well  displayed  in  the  success  of  the 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  95 

Y  M  C  A,  the  Y  W  C  A,  and  the  Salvation  Army.  The 
student  who  shoulders  his  rifle  and  goes  to  war  alone,  who 
undertakes  political  reform  without  organization,  who  at- 
tempts to  evangelize  foreign  lands  unattached  to  any  or- 
ganized body,  unless  all  experience  is  misleading  is  destined 
to  failure  just  as  he  would  be  if  he  attempted  to  make  his  own 
watch  and  clothing  or  to  deliver  his  own  letters  and  provide 
his  own  locomotion. 

It  takes  a  long  while  to  perfect  an  organization.  Our  mail 
system,  law  courts,  institutions  of  free  government,  churches, 
are  the  result  of  the  work  of  generations.  Now  let  each 
student  carefully  list  all  the  effective  organizations  in  his 
own  community  or  in  the  place  where  he  expects  to  work. 
If  he  does  this  honestly  the  following  conclusions  seem  in- 
evitable: 

1.  Religion  is  the  only  organized  force  that  has  as  its  sole 
object  the  highest  good  of  every  person  and  the  improvement  of 
every  phase  of  the  social  order, 

2.,  It  alone  holds  supreme  the  love  of  the  Father^  the  br other- 
hood  of  man,  the  value  of  human  life,  and  the  dominance  of  the 
spiritual.  And  nothing  else  supplies  adequate  motive  and 
dynamic  to  direct  the  voluntary  wills  of  men. 

3.  Religion  is  the  most  universal  of  organized  forces.  No 
corner  of  the  land  is  without  some  form  of  organized  religious 
life.  It  is  adaptable  to  every  circumstance  and  form  of  help- 
ful activity. 

4.  It  affords  opportunity  for  the  exercise  of  every  talent.  The 
highest  quality  of  statesmanship  is  demanded  of  its  leaders; 
the  best  business  ability  to  handle  the  finances  and  organize 
the  resources;  the  highest  culture  of  mind  and  heart  is  not  too 
good  for  its  services.  Workers  of  all  kinds  are  eagerly  wel- 
comed. Persons  skilled  in  anything  —  athletics,  teaching, 
organizing,  crafts,  music,  art,  nature,  finance,  entertaining, 
—  find  here  scope  and  audience.  It  will  prove  interesting  and 
enlightening  to  make  a  list  of  the  openings  in  the  Church  such 
as  the  following:  foreign  missions  (for  preachers,  teachers, 


96      CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

doctors,  nurses,  farmers,  and  builders);  home  missions; 
Y  M  C  A  and  Y  W  C  A;  ladies'  aid  society;  brotherhood; 
social  service;  big  brother  and  big  sister  movements;  Red 
Cross;  teaching  in  Sunday  school,  night  school,  or  foreigners; 
athletics;  clubs  and  organized  classes;  pubhc  health;  lecture 
courses;  entertainments;  household  science;  nursing  and  first 
aid;  singing;  debating;  art;  and  many  others. 

Whether  one's  talent  is  great  or  small,  here  is  an  organiza- 
tion with  the  highest  ideals  that  needs  and  uses  everything 
one  can  invest.  And  of  this  we  are  sure,  not  one  cent  of  our 
money  or  any  of  our  effort  goes  to  forward  the  selfish  ends  or 
interests  of  any  official,  but  goes  directly  to  enrich  human  hfe. 

So  far  we  have  only  considered  working  through  the  Church. 
The  question  of  joining  the  Church  and  of  taking  up  religious 
work  as  one's  vocation  will  be  discussed  in  the  last  chapter. 

The  more  one  thinks  over  life  the  more  one  is  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  of  all  one's  labor  and  striving  the  only  real, 
permanent,  satisfying  results  come  from  investing  our  lives 
for  others;  the  obligation  resting  on  college  students  is  very 
great;  the  opportunities  for  service  through  the  Church  ar« 
unhmited.    God  is  calling.    We  are  free  to  decide  as  we  will. 

Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation,  and  Practice 

1.  Read  again  the  Bible  references  given  on  page  83,  sec- 
tions, a,  b,  and  c. 

2.  Discuss  the  social  gospel  of  the  prophets;  of  the  early 
church;  and  of  foreign  missions.  Read  sections  of  Watson's 
'^  Social  Problems  and  the  Church's  Duty." 

3.  Should  one  judge  ''the  Church"  by  one  congregation 
or  by  the  policy  of  the  churches?  Take  the  British  Labour 
Party's  social  program  as  published  in  the  Survey,  Nov.  30, 
1918,  and  many  other  places.  It  is  regarded  as  the  highest 
declaration  of  ideals  yet  promulgated.  Compare  it  with  the 
declaration  of  the  churches  on  page  84.  What  forces  are 
doing  most  fundamentally,  to  make  this  program  an  accom- 
plished fact? 


SERVICE  THROUGH  THE  CHURCH  97 

4.  The  criticism  is  often  made  that  organized  religion  has 
opposed  some  good  r^orms.  Investigate  any  great  up- 
building force,  such  as  medical,  legal,  and  educational  so- 
cieties, and  see  if  its  record  is  different.  For  example,  what 
was  the  early  attitude  of  the  medical  societies  to  Harvey's 
theory  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  or  to  osteopathy;  of 
the  legal  societies  to  juvenile  courts  (read  Judge  Lindsey's 
fight  for  this  reform) ;  or  the  educators'  early  attitude  to  the 
kindergarten?    How  do  you  explain  this? 

5.  Make  a  list  of  reforms  the  Church  has  championed  and 
is  now  promoting.  Different  members  of  the  class  should 
interview  leaders  in  different  lines  of  work  to  get  these  facts. 

6.  Report  on  all  the  matters  in  which  the  various  religious 
bodies  are  cooperating.  Each  student  can  study  one  phase, 
such  as  federations  of  churches ;  the  Sunday  School  Council  of 
Evangelical  Denominations;  war  work;  home  missions;  for- 
eign missions;  and  others. 

7.  By  actual  first-hand  investigation  of  all  the  philanthropic 
agencies  in  your  community  find  out  first  how  many  were  pro- 
moted and  are  maintained  by  non-church  people  and  second, 
the  proportion  of  workers  and  supporters  who  are  church 
members. 

8.  Discuss  the  various  examples  given  on  pages  93-4  as 
to  whether  the  college  man  and  woman's  association  with  the 
Church  helped  or  hindered  their  work  for  others.  Let  each 
student  gather  other  similar  incidents  from  books  or  in- 
vestigation. 

9.  A  non-church-going,  reckless-hving  dentist  said  to  the 
writer,  ^'I  know  this  country  could  not  last  ten  years  without 
the  Church."  Consider  the  place  religion  has  had  in  the 
country's  past  and  its  influence  today  and  discuss  his  state- 
ment. 

10.  Is  it  necessary  for  one  to  work  in  an  organized  way  if 
he  is  to  make  his  biggest  contribution?  If  so,  is  not  the 
Church  the  most  universal,  available,  and  adaptable  organ- 
ization, and  one  that  embodies  the  highest  ideals? 


CHAPTER  VIII 

OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  SERVICE  THROUGH 
THE   CHURCH  SCHOOL 

The  only  success  that  is  success  is  so  to  Hve  that  other  per- 
sons may  be  helped  and  conditions  made  better.  Glance 
over  Chapters  I  and  II  again. 

Take  some  community  with  a  normally  staple  population 
and  with  it  definitely  in  mind  think  out  and  write  down  prac- 
tical answers  to  the  following  questions: 

How  can  a  community  make  sure  that  its  citizens,  in  twenty 
years^  time,  will  have  higher  ideals  of  human  life  and  social 
justice  than  obtain  today? 

How  can  a  congregation  in  such  a  center  make  sure  that 
in  twenty  years  ^  time  it  will  have  more  skilled  workers  and 
be  doing  better  work  than  today? 

How  can  parents  make  reasonably  certain  that  their  grown- 
up children  will  be  men  and  women  of  good  character  and 
noble  purpose? 

How  can  Christian  people  make  surest  provision  for  the 
spreading  of  the  Kingdom  in  years  to  come? 

How  can  citizens  make  sure  of  the  future  of  their  country 
and  of  the  "federation  of  the  world''? 

Which  is  the  more  strategic,  profitable,  and  permanent,  to 
bring  up  children  and  young  people  in  fellowship  with  God 
and  in  the  service  of  others,  or  to  seek  to  change  them  when 
of  mature  years? 

Granted  that  the  only  investment  of  one's  life  is  so  to  live 
and  work  that  the  world  is  bettered,  discuss  this  thesis:  The 
investment  of  one's  life  in  the  lives  of  children  brings  quickest 
returns,  brings  largest  returns,  and  is  surest.  These  are  the 
three  tests  of  an  investment. 

98 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  99 

Jesus  taught  that  every  child  is  born  in  the  image  of 
God;  that  to  the  child  belongs  the  Kingdom;  and  to  make  His 
words  unmistakable  He  took  a  child  and  set  him  in  the  midst 
and  said  that  such  was  the  greatest  in  the  Kingdom.  He 
taught  that  it  is  the  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  them  the 
Kingdom;  He  put  His  arms  around  the  children,  laid  His 
hands  on  them,  and  blessed  them.  The  Kingdom  is  the  in- 
heritance by  birth  of  every  normal  child,  wherever  born. 
Parents,  teachers,  and  other  adults  are  the  trustees.  None 
but  the  basest  if  left  as  trustee  for  a  child  —  even  if  an  entire 
stranger  —  would  cheat  him  of  one  dollar.  But  how  have 
even  parents  and  the  rest  of  us  discharged  our  trusteeship  in 
regard  to  the  only  inheritance  that  really  matters? 

In  the  best  family  life  the  aim  is  to  help  each  child  develop 
day  by  day  and  hve  his  best  life  as  a  child  —  boy  or  girl  — 
youth,  and  adult.  No  family  wants  any  child  to  get  into  dis- 
grace for  the  joy  of  rescuing  it  again!  The  joy  of  parents  is 
full  when  the  child  lives  every  day  a  clean,  honorable  life. 

The  aim  of  the  Church  and  nation  is  the  same  in  this  respect. 
The  State  spends  millions  to  educate  boys  and  girls  so  that 
they  may  be  good  citizens.  The  Church  finds  its  greatest 
increase  from  work  with  the  young.  After  careful  investiga- 
tion it  has  been  found  that  between  seven  and  eight  out  of 
every  ten  who  have  decided  for  Christ  did  so  under  twenty 
years  of  age,  and  that  only  one  out  of  every  thousand  made 
such  decision  after  thirty  years  of  age.  These  are  startUng 
figures.  Most  of  those  who  decided  under  twenty  years  of 
age  developed,  naturally,  from  early  days,  into  conscious 
fellowship  with  God.  It  would  be  interesting  to  find  out 
how  many  of  the  class  had  that  same  experience. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  correspondingly  large  proportion  of 
crime  originates  in  these  early  years. 

Remember  also  that  the  general  attitude  to  life  and  one's 
life-work  is  usually  decided  well  within  this  period.  For 
example,  to  mention  only  a  few  musicians  and  missionaries: 
Mozart  had  made  a  mark  as  a  musician  at  four  years  of  age, 


100    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

Dussek  and  Kalkbreuner  at  five,  Hummel  and  Chopin  at 
nine,  Beethoven  at  eleven;  Duff  received  his  impulse  to 
missions  at  four,  Fidelia  Fiske,  Eliza  Agnew,  Alexander 
Mackay  in  childhood,  Livingstone  at  twelve.  Chamberlain 
at  fourteen,  Chalmers  at  fifteen,  while  most  who  go  to  the 
foreign  field  are  definitely  committed  and  many  sail  under 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years  of  age.  These  considerations, 
backed  by  innumerable  other  facts  and  by  our  own  experience, 
are  overwhelming  evidence  to  the  importance  of  the  first  few 
years  of  life  in  the  development  of  character. 

Here  the  home  stands  absolutely  supreme.  One  develops 
more  in  the  first  five  years  than  in  any  other  five  years  of  life. 
One  is  astonished  at  the  list  of  achievements  in  these  years: 
for  example,  language,  accent,  habits,  and  the  basis  of 
future  health  and  quality  of  mind.  King  George  of  Great 
Britain,  whose  splendid  quaUties  of  mind  and  heart  have  en- 
deared him  to  milUons,  said  in  an  address  recently,  "The 
foundations  of  national  glory  are  set  in  the  homes  of  the 
people.  They  will  only  remain  unshaken  so  long  as  the 
family  life  of  our  nation  is  sound,  simple,  and  pure.'^  Any- 
thing one  can  do,  therefore,  to  keep  the  home  in  its  attitude 
to  and  work  for  the  young  is  directly  moulding  the  future  and 
making  an  investment  that  will  pay  dividends  forever. 

Are  these  some  of  the  fundamental  weaknesses  of  the  home: 
lack  of  appreciation  of  the  sacredness  of  parenthood,  of  the 
sacredness  and  possibilities  of  childhood,  ignorance  of  how  to 
care  for  children  and  how  to  train  them,  underestimation  of 
the  value  of  mental,  moral,  and  spiritual  development  as 
compared  to  material  gain  ?  Add  to  this  list  and  discuss  how 
one  in  any  occupation  may  help  remedy  these  defects. 

Four  ways  of  helping,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  sug- 
gested in  preceding  chapters,  are  within  reach  of  everyone: 
First,  by  forming  high  ideals  for  one's  own  home  and  living 
up  to  these  ideals  when  the  home  is  established.  No  service 
is  greater  than  this.  Besides  this  should  every  young  man 
and  young  woman  seek  definitely  to  fit  and  train  himself  for 


THE  CHURCB  SCHOOL  101 

home  making  or  does  this/ ability,  conje  nati^rally;?  What 
does  the  State  or  Church  do^rlGfimtelyf to  i^hi^'did?:  .What 
are  some  of  the  things  such  training  should  include?  Second, 
by  cultivating  a  love  for  children  and  a  personal  interest  in 
everything  that  concerns  them.  Recall  how  Jesus  watched 
street  children  and  took  a  personal  interest  in  them.  Third, 
by  promoting  everything  that  makes  for  the  welfare  of  the 
child  as  suggested  in  Chapters  II  and  IV.  Fourth,  by  find- 
ing the  fullest  opportunity  for  direct  help  to  persons  of  all 
ages  through  the  church  school,  or  Sunday  school.  Here  the 
organization  is  complete  and  flexible,  affording  every  facility 
for  whatever  service  anyone  can  offer.  Let  us  consider  some 
of  the  openings  in  the  church,  or  Sunday  school. 

The  Primary  Department  includes  first,  the  Cradle  or  Font 
Roll.  The  aim  is  to  enroll  every  child  as  soon  after  birth  as 
possible  and  so  teach  that  the  child  has  a  place  in  the  Church 
and  Kingdom.  In  this  way  many  parents  come  to  see  the 
privilege  that  is  theirs,  of  dedicating  their  little  ones  to  God 
in  baptism.  A  certificate  of  membership  is  given  and  the 
child  is  remembered  on  each  birthday  and  on  other  occasions. 
Through  visiting  and  remembering  the  babies  on  the  Cradle 
or  Font  Roll  is  one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  strengthening 
the  home.  A  young  girl  fresh  from  normal  school  heard  the 
call  for  a  Cradle  Roll  superintendent.  She  volunteered. 
There  were  only  ten  babies.  The  surprise  many  of  the 
parents  felt  and  the  glow  of  pleasure  and  pride  that  the 
"  teacher ''  should  remember  their  baby,  was  remarkable. 
Every  birthday  was  an  opportunity  to  visit  and  give  some 
little  gift  —  a  picture  or  flower.  When  any  were  sick  she 
could  show  how  the  Church  loved  the  little  ones.  And  when 
one  died,  through  her  simple  ministry  of  kindness  and  love 
the  parents  both  became  new  in  Jesus  Christ.  Homes  were 
brightened,  a  better  attitude  to  life  was  developed,  and  the 
teacher  was  overwhelmed  by  the  results  of  what  seemed  to  her 
so  small  a  service. 

The  Primary  Department  also  includes  the  beginners,  ages 


102    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

four  and  five,  and  the  prinxarfe.  ages  six,  seven,  and  eight. 
There  h  t^c?  more  f aj^cinatirig-.  work  than  teaching  a  class  of 
five  'or  six  of  these  children  or  of  superintending  a  Depart- 
ment. The  little  children  of  our  own  and  of  all  lands,  in- 
cluding the  non-Christian  lands,  love  the  Father  with  all  the 
passion  of  their  little  hearts  when  He  is  presented  to  them  as 
Jesus  revealed  Him.  He  is  as  real  to  them  as  their  earthly 
parent.  Coming  in  with  a  few  early  spring  flowers  from  the 
lawn  four-year-old  Alice  exclaimed:  '^Look,  Mamma  —  God^s 
presents  to  us."  David,  three  years  old,  lay  on  his  cot  with 
his  playthings.  A  heaty  electric  storm  came  on.  Just  after 
a  frightful  crash  the  solicitous  mother  peeped  in.  David  lay 
with  wide  open  eyes,  his  toys  forgotten.  "  Mother,"  he  asked, 
''does  God  make  the  thunder?"  She  said,  "Yes,  darling." 
After  a  moment's  thought  he  said,  "  I  love  God  but  I  don't 
like  the  big  noise  He  makes."  Alexander  Duff  received  his 
missionary  impulse  hearing  stories  in  Sunday  school  about 
India  and  handling  objects  of  heathen  worship.  Each  stu- 
dent in  the  class  can  give  instances  of  how  real  and  how  near 
God  is  to  little  ones. 

The  need  for  trained  workers  with  little  children  is  great, 
both  at  home  and  in  the  foreign  field.  The  opportunity, 
especially  for  college  girls  with  their  exceptional  education 
and  training,  is  unequalled.  No  more  delightful  or  sacred 
privilege  can  be  desired  than  that  of  leading  a  group  of  little 
children  in  worship.  They  should  have  their  own  room 
which  should  be  made  as  attractive  and  home-like  as  only  a 
woman  can  make  it.  It  is  delightful  to  guide  them  in  sing- 
ing, and  interpreting  their  own  songs;  in  using  beautiful 
verses  of  Scripture  and  hymns  that  they  can  understand;  in 
expressing  their  own  hearts  to  God  in  prayer  and  developing  a 
natural,  happy  fellowship  with  God  the  Father;  and  to  help 
them  to  be  a  blessing  to  others.  All  this  the  leaders  can 
accomplish  by  their  own  wholesome,  pure  lives  and  helpful 
service  in  the  sphere  of  a  little  child's  life! 

Or  what  can  be  more  attractive  and  important  than  to  be 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  103 

the  center  of  a  class  of  about  six  eager,  confiding,  responsive 
children  six  to  eight  years  of  age?  It  is  a  delight  to  teach 
them  the  wonderful  Bible  and  other  stories  selected  for  use 
in  the  graded  courses;  helping  them  cooperate  with  God  in 
taking  care  of  birds,  animals,  flowers;  leading  them  to  appre- 
ciate their  homes,  food,  clothes,  companions,  and  all  God's 
good  gifts;  making  Sunday  school,  and  so  rehgion,  a  real  joy 
to  them;  cultivating  their  fellowship  with  God  and  making 
worship  natural  and  helpful;  directing  them  in  doing  such 
loving  service  as  they  can  for  others  and  which  they  are  so 
eager  to  do;  and  helping  each  one  in  every  way  to  achieve  his 
own  best  and  most  beautiful  life  as  a  httle  child  —  this  is  a 
work  in  which  angels  may  well  envy  us. 

There  are  many  things  these  children  can  do  for  others. 
Here  are  just  a  few  suggestions:  Make  scrap  books  for  children 
at  home  or  in  mission  lands,  string  beads  and  colored  pop- 
corn, make  simple  doll's  clothes,  give  and  repair  toys.  They 
can  save  money  by  denying  themselves  candy,  etc.,  because 
of  a  higher  motive.  Children  are  capable  of  heights  of  service 
often  undreamed  of  by  grown-ups.  They  dehght  in  helping 
others  and  crave  to  be  led  and  directed  in  service. 

The  reward  is  the  unselfish,  whole-hearted  love  of  httle 
children!  Besides,  there  is  the  consciousness  of  sharing  with 
Christ,  work  He  loved  to  do;  of  seeing  lives  develop  beautiful 
and  strong  without  gross  mistakes  or  hateful  blemishes;  and 
of  making  the  greatest  contribution  to  the  strength,  welfare, 
and  happiness  of  the  nation,  the  world,  and  the  Kingdom. 

Every  college  student  should  look  upon  himself  or  herself 
as  being  called  of  God  to  see  that  the  little  children  have  the 
best  possible.  A  busy  New  York  specialist  living  in  Bloom- 
field,  New  Jersey,  who  loves  little  children,  was  convinced 
that  the  Sunday  school  was  not  doing  its  best  work.  Through 
his  efforts  an  expert  worker  was  brought  in.  The  whole  work 
was  transformed.  Happy,  eager  children  gathered,  and  dis- 
liked leaving  school.  His  influence  is  bearing  rich  fruit  in 
the  lives  of  the  httle  ones  in  that  place  and  will  continue 


104    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

through  the  years  to  come.  A  teacher,  doctor,  lawyer, 
farmer,  or  business  man,  by  calUng  attention  to  the  needs 
and  advocating  improvements  in  the  work  with  children,  has 
great  influence  for  good. 

It  would  be  a  fine  exercise  to  describe  minutely  a  primary 
room,  session,  and  lesson  period  as  each  should  be  and  to 
discuss  the  importance  of  the  work  with  little  children. 

When  nine  years  of  age  pupils  are  promoted  to  the  Junior 
Departmentj  where  they  remain  for  three  years.  Here  the 
children  delight  in  action  and  in  stories  of  heroes  and  great 
events.  They  are  most  loyal  to  anyone  who  is  their  friend. 
And  they  will  gladly  deny  themselves  to  help  others.  What 
better  investment  could  one  make  than  to  lead  this  depart- 
ment in  its  worship;  or  a  group  of  about  six  such  pupils  in 
their  delightful,  frank,  earnest  study  of  lessons  such  as  the 
graded  lessons  provide;  and  in  their  midweek  activities?  A 
leading  lawyer  in  a  western  province  who  is  prominent  in  all 
great  social  movements,  is  found  every  Sunday  with  his  class 
of  girls  of  eleven.  It  looks  as  if  it  were  such'  insignificant 
work.  Hear  what  he  says:  ''I  believe  my  best  work  in  life 
is  what  I  am  doing  in  this  class.''  Here  is  one  of  Canada's 
great  hockey  players  known  also  in  the  United  States  for  his 
whirlwind  playing.  Around  him  sit  seven  lads,  open-eyed, 
open-mouthed,  almost  worshiping  him  as  they  study  Bible 
heroes  and  as  he  leads  them  to  live  as  manly  boys  in  fellow- 
ship with  the  Man  of  Nazareth.  It  would  change  the  atti- 
tude of  many  a  thoughtless  student  to  know  the  character 
and  standing  of  many  of  the  Sunday  school  teachers  in  our 
churches. 

And  these  children  delight  to  work  for  others.  A  teacher 
took  her  class  of  boys  to  the  home  for  incurable  children. 
They  were  touched  by  the  suffering  and  got  to  know  some  of 
the  sick.  They  asked  the  matron  what  they  could  do  to 
help.  She  mentioned  a  number  of  things,  one  being  that  the 
children  liked  honey  on  their  "pieces"  between  meals. 
The  boys  went  to  the  stores,  invested  the  class-money  in 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  105 

honey  and  sent  it  to  the  hospital.  They  then  went  to  work, 
meeting  every  week,  to  make  more  money  to  help  others.  A 
class  of  girls  was  told  that  some  Ruthenian  children  in  Mani- 
toba would  have  no  Christmas  presents.  ''Let  us  help,"  they 
said.  Every  week  they  met,  gathered  around  a  table,  the 
president  and  officers  conducting  the  meeting.  Then  they 
took  up  their  work.  Some  made  strings  of  popcorn;  some 
scrap  books;  others  sewing-bags.  The  teacher  assisted  each 
as  required.  Then  she  would  read  or  tell  a  missionary  story. 
No  happier  group  could  be  found  than  these  hard-working 
children,  because  it  was  a  work  of  love.  And  the  teacher 
wrote,  "The  beauty  of  it  is,  'Missions'  is  now  no  abstract 
term  to  these  children.  They  have  a  vital  interest  and  love 
for  others  in  need,  which  is  the  spirit  of  Jesus.  Wherever 
these  children  go  I  feel  they  will  be  real  missionaries."  Every 
year  since  then  the  interest,  gifts,  and  work  of  this  class  have 
multiplied  manifold.    The  teacher's  faith  has  been  fulfilled. 

An  accomplished  young  woman  in  Montreal  had  a  class  of 
boys.  They  visited  some  of  the  poorest  tenements  and 
worked  hard  to  make  presents  and  to  earn  money  in  order  to 
buy  others  for  the  children  of  these  poor  people  at  Christmas 
time.  Christmas  Day  they  dehvered  the  parcels.  There 
were  so  many  that  one  of  the  boys  took  his  new  sleigh.  They 
were  a  happy  group  as  they  went  from  door  to  door,  made 
happy  by  the  gladness  of  the  poor  children  at  sight  of  the 
presents.  As  they  gave  in  the  last  parcel,  a  door  below  opened 
and  a  little  ragged  lad  stood  there.  He  had  received  nothing. 
The  boys  were  stricken  with  sorrow.  All  at  once  the  lad  with 
the  sleigh  said,  "My  sleigh!"  and  quickly  pulled  it  up  and. 
gave  this  most  cherished  possession  to  meet  another's  need. 
It  is  an  honor  to  have  the  privilege  of  being  a  friend  and 
leader  of  generous-hearted,  noble  boys  and  girls  who  are  so 
ready  to  be  loyal,  to  love,  and  to  serve. 

A  returned  missionary  told  of  being  able  to  see  from  a  hill 
in  Africa  the  smoke  of  a  thousand  villages  in  none  of  which 
was  the  name  of  Jesus  known.    In  the  audience  was  a  boy  of 


106    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

about  twelve.  No  one  thought  of  him.  Years  later  towards 
the  close  of  a  brilliant  medical  course  friends  said,  ''You'll  be 
the  leading  doctor  in  Scotland."  But  he  said,  ''No,  the 
thousands  of  villages  in  Africa  call! "  And  Livingstone  found 
a  continent.  Did  that  missionary  ever  make  a  better  invest- 
ment than  when  he  influenced  that  junior  boy?  What  is  the 
comparison  between  making  money  and  touching  the  life  of 
a  boy  or  girl? 

The  years  from  twelve  to  twenty  are  fraught  with  great 
issues.  Revolutionary  physical  development  calls  for  a  total 
readjustment.  Old  social  relations  do  not  hold.  A  new 
independence,  without  which  there  could  be  no  progress, 
comes  into  being.  Most  important  decisions  are  made: 
One's  life  work;  the  quality  of  one's  work  and  one's  attitude 
to  life;  one's  attitude  to  Jesus.  And  yet  just  in  these  harvest 
years  the  number  of  girls  and  boys  who  have  no  definite 
religious  education,  and  no  wise  guidance  by  some  older 
sympathetic  Christian,  is  appalling!  Nearly  half  of  these 
older  boys  and  girls  are  not  regularly  in  any  Sunday  school. 
This  is  largely  because  they  are  not  understood  and  the 
Sunday  schools  are  not  built  to  meet  their  needs.  Yet  it  is 
just  in  these  years  that  idealism  and  heroism  and  eagerness 
to  serve  are  at  their  highest,  as  witness  the  number  who  gave 
themselves  willingly  for  their  country  in  the  War,  even  mis- 
representing their  age  to  be  allowed  to  go;  the  fact  that 
almost  all  who  take  up  church,  social  service,  and  mission 
work  volunteer  during  these  years;  and  that  eight  out  of  ten 
of  all  who  joined  the  Church  did  so  at  this  period  of  life.  It  is 
just  in  these  harvest  years  that,  too  often,  they  are  lost  to  the 
Church. 

But  a  great  change  is  coming.  Schools  are  being  re-made. 
The  need  is  for  leadership.  Thousands  of  the  best  who  went 
to  the  front,  will  not  return.  The  older  boys  must  take  their 
place.  The  older  girls,  too,  are  ready  to  serve  in  any  capacity. 
They  need  leadership.  A  young  man  who  understands  boys, 
a  young  woman  who  understands  girls,  and  who  has  education 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  107 

and  training,  must  realize  that  he  and  she  have  been  bom  for 
such  a  time  as  this.  All  through  the  Church  there  is  an 
awakening  and  in  Canada  all  denominations  have  united  in 
a  program  for  boys  and  girls  that  has  met  a  wonderful 
response. 

A  class  of  older  boys  in  Vancouver  were  the  terror  of  the 
school.  Teacher  after  teacher  was  driven  out.  A  young 
man  took  them.  He  discarded  the  unsuited  uniform  lessons 
and  they  discussed  together  the  great  men  and  women  of  the 
Bible.  The  class  organized  itself  and  carried  on  its  work. 
Mingling  in  sports  with  the  teacher,  the  boys  caught  a  new 
vision  of  the  place  of  religion.  Before  the  year  was  out  they 
were  earnest  workers,  the  class  had  become  the  backbone  of 
the  school,  and  all  but  one  were  members  of  the  church. 

A  mixed  class  in  a  small  Ontario  town  showed  all  the  usual 
signs  of  sleepy  indifference.  A  young  woman  became 
teacher.  Through  the  week  she  met  her  girls  for  sport, 
sewing,  and  other  interests,  and  a  young  man  took  the  boys 
for  their  activities.  The  work  these  students  have  done  for 
the  community  and  for  missions,  and  the  change  in  their  own 
character,  are  phenomenal.  As  one  small  indication  of  their 
new  attitude  to  religion  it  may  be  noted  that  two  years  ago 
not  one  would  lead  the  class  in  prayer  while  now  there  is  not 
one  unwilling  to  do  so. 

Formerly  it  was  difficult  to  know  what  to  do  at  the  mid- 
week meeting  when  such  was  held.  Now  there  are  fully 
wrought  out  programs  for  the  boys  and  girls,  of  which  perhaps 
the  best  is  the  Standard  Efficiency  Tests.  In  Canada  this  is 
known  as  the  Canadian  Standard  Efficiency  Tests,  in  the 
United  States  the  American  Standard  Program  for  Boys.  It 
incorporates  the  good  points  of  the  Scouts  and  other  organiza- 
tions. But  unlike  these  it  is  the  program  for  the  Sunday 
school  class  and  not  a  separate  organization.  Parallel 
courses  are  prepared  for  girls.  These  programs  aim  to  touch 
every  phase  of  their  lives  and  help  them  to  see  that  religion 
inspires  and  ennobles  everything  in  life.    As  a  result  of  such 


108    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

programs  thousands  of  older  boys  and  older  girls  are  en- 
thusiastically studying  the  Bible  in  Sunday  school  and  at 
weekday  meetings  and  doing  a  wonderful  amount  of  Christian 
work.  Best  of  all  they  are  getting  the  Christian  view  of  life 
and  putting  the  Christ  motive  into  all  they  do.  ^'The  Jesus 
Way''  has  become  not  only  a  watchword  but  a  Hving  reaUty 
to  thousands. 

In  this  particular  crisis  in  the  country  and  in  the  work  of 
the  Kingdom,  God  expects  every  college  man  and  woman  to 
give  support  and  leadership  in  this  work.  Take  but  two 
examples  out  of  scores,  equally  good.  In  Vernon,  British 
Columbia,  older  boys  were  not  vitally  interested  in  the  church 
school.  The  Canadian  Standard  Efficiency  Test  was  intro- 
duced. Every  church  had  its  class.  Practically  all  the  boys 
now  are  enthusiastic  workers,  ready  to  teach  or  work  in  any 
capacity.  Boys  from  all  denominations  meet  for  discussion, 
sport,  and  other  interests.  A  new  community  spirit  has 
developed,  and  many  older  boys  have  new  direction  and  pur- 
pose in  life  and  are  throwing  their  energy  into  the  movements 
that  build  up. 

In  a  small  town  near  Brandon,  Manitoba,  there  was  not  an 
older  girl  in  the  place.  They  were  all  "young  ladies."  The 
chief  characteristics  were  affectation,  dressiness,  and  giddiness, 
and  the  chief  aim  in  life  to  walk  the  streets  with  boys.  A 
college  graduate  came  to  town  and  took  an  interest  in  them. 
Through  work  on  Sunday  and  delightful  purposeful  work 
through  the  week,  these  girls  found  the  richness  of  hfe.  From 
being  empty  and  frivolous  they  developed  into  the  highest 
type  of  girlhood.  In  three  years  over  seventy  became  active 
workers  in  every  good  cause  and  sixty  of  them  had  joined  the 
various  churches. 

But  the  church  school  ministers  to  more  than  children  and 
older  boys  and  girls.  It  serves  young  people,  eighteen  to 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  and  adults  as  well,  and  it  includes 
all  in  the  community  in  its  membership.  But  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  the  young  graduate  should  give  his  personal 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  109 

leadership  to  pupils  under  twenty.  They  can  also  direct  and 
inspire  leadership  and  better  work  for  the  older  pupils. 

There  are  graded  courses  of  study  for  young  people  who 
form  the  Young  People^s  Department  of  the  school.  This 
department,  meeting  through  the  week,  does  not  only  the 
regular  work  of  a  Yoimg  People's  Society,  but  also  a  great 
deal  of  work  for  the  community  and  for  missions.  If  one  will 
recall  what  he  himself  owes  to  some  little  society  at  home  one 
can  estimate  more  accurately  the  value  of  this  work  for  the 
young  people  of  our  country.  Here  are  a  few  examples  at 
random  from  hundreds  that  might  be  cited: 

An  older  business  man,  a  college  graduate,  who  taught  the 
Bible  class  spoke  with  glowing  pride:  "Jim  was  indifferent 
to  rehgion.  We  got  him  interested  in  the  young  men^s  Bible 
class.  He  grew.  Went  west  to  farm.  There  was  no  church 
or  school.  He  organized  a  school  and  because  there  was  no 
one  else  became  superintendent.  Within  three  years  the 
school  became  a  congregation."  "To  think,"  he  added, 
"that  I,  through  Jim,  am  carrying  on  a  school  and  whole 
congregation  in  the  west!" 

In  a  small  middle-western  town  the  young  women^s  Bible 
class  did  the  ordinary  perfunctory  work.  A  young  public- 
school  teacher  took  charge.  They  got  permission  to  partition 
off  a  piece  of  the  basement  for  their  room.  They  took  up 
the  discussion  of  vital  problems  and  became  a  normal  class. 
In  two  years  ten  teachers  graduated  from  it  so  that  the  school 
had  not  only  enough  teachers  for  itseK  but  was  able  to  help 
other  schools.  That  teacher  has  multiplied  herself  fifteen 
times  in  two  years.     Every  school  needs  such  a  class. 

Here  are  some  of  the  things  young  people  have  done:  built 
an  addition  to  the  church  for  their  own  room;  excavated  and 
remodeled  the  basement;  reseated  the  church;  beautified 
grounds;  cleaned  up  sports;  supported  poor  families;  edu- 
cated children  in  foreign  lands;  carried  on  propaganda  such 
as  temperance,  anti-tuberculosis,  "swat  the  fly,"  beautiful 
lawns  and  back  yards.    Best  of  all,  by  study  and  work  done, 


110    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

thousands  have  caught  the  spirit  of  Christianity  and  have 
acquired  such  training  and  skill  that  they  ever  afterwards 
were  leaders  wherever  they  went. 

The  Adult  Department  includes  first,  the  Bible  class.  This 
should  be  a  school  for  discussion  of  the  problems  which  bear 
heavily  on  everyone  who  takes  his  share  of  the  world's  work. 
The  aim  should  be  to  bring  insight,  inspiration,  and  strength 
so  that  these  problems  may  be  interpreted  in  the  spirit  of 
Christ. 

What  an  opportunity  for  a  college  man  or  woman  to  get  a 
Bible  class  on  its  feet!  And  in  every  community  what  need 
there  is  of  the  ministry  of  love  and  cheer  and  courage  that  a 
good  Bible  class  can  bring!  It  would  be  a  splendid  achieve- 
ment to  get  these  influential  groups  of  adults  discussing,  in 
the  light  of  the  Bible,  such  questions  as  the  place  and  import- 
ance of  education,  health  and  housing,  recreation  and  amuse- 
ment, libraries  and  reading  rooms,  a  living  wage,  hours  of 
labor,  early  closing,  the  sacredness  of  the  ballot,  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  home,  the  importance  of  family  reUgion,  the 
place  of  missions  in  the  world's  history,  Christianity  com- 
pared with  other  religions,  the  contribution  of  the  Church  to 
the  nation.  The  influence  of  adults  bears  directly  on  the 
conununity  Hfe  and  one's  own  energy  and  strength  and  help 
would  be  multipUed  as  many  times  as  there  are  persons  in 
the  school  whom  he  could  inspire  with  his  own  Vision. 

In  every  church  there  should  be  a  course,  for  a  few  months 
at  least,  on  some  subject  bearing  on  the  rights  of  the  child  — 
health,  play,  education,  and  reUgion.  Surely  the  Church 
should  provide  help  for  parents  and  those  who  will  have 
homes  of  their  own  in  the  great  work  of  nurturing  and  train- 
ing children.  The  college  man  or  woman,  knowing  the  need, 
can  help  mold  the  present  and  future  homes  of  the  nation. 

The  Adult  Department  also  includes  the  Home  Depart- 
ment. Here  should  be  enrolled  every  person  who  is  not 
actually  at  school.  The  aim  of  the  Home  Department  is  to 
develop  group  or  family  religion.    Thousands  need  the  help 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  111 

it  can  bring.  Hundreds  have  found  new  life  through  its 
ministry.  It  is  not  easy  to  overestimate  the  good  that  comes 
to  a  person  or  a  family  from  reading  a  few  verses  of  the  Bible 
and  lifting  up  the  heart  in  prayer.  The  college  student's  in- 
fluence can  count  mightily  in  bringing  this  about. 

In  addition  there  is  need  of  help  in  the  training  of  leaders. 
Every  group  of  officers  and  teachers  feels  the  need  of  stimulus 
and  training.  The  new  Teacher  Training  books  are  the  best 
the  schools  have  ever  had.  Many  schools  lack  only  a  leader. 
If  the  college  man  and  woman  is  anxious  to  serve,  here  is  a 
natural  opportunity.  Many  of  the  students  of  Agriculture, 
Household  Science,  and  Teaching  at  MacDonald  College, 
Ste  Anne  de  Bellevue,  Quebec,  take  special  courses  to  fit 
themselves  for  this  work  that  they  may  be  of  real  service  to 
the  Sunday  schools  in  their  communities.  Their  work  is 
bringing  splendid  results.  Under  the  leadership  of  one  or 
two  persons  of  vision  all  the  teachers  and  officers  of  a  com- 
munity may  be  united  in  a  community  class  or  training  school. 
Anything  that  helps  those  who  have  to  do  with  rehgious  edu- 
cation is  a  contribution  to  the  welfare  of  all  in  the  community 
and  to  many  beyond. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  church  school  requires  no  external 
organization,  but  only  the  class  or  department,  organized  and 
meeting  on  Sunday  and  once  through  the  week.  Also  that 
its  work  is  of  the  broadest  character  so  that  whatever  talent 
one  has  he  can  find  ample  room  for  its  exercise,  and  an 
efficient,  flexible  organization  to  make  it  effective. 

In  every  department  of  the  Sunday  school  what  oppor- 
tunities for  the  most  effective  missionary  service!  Every- 
one who  gives  zeal  and  training  in  that  work  makes  a  perma- 
nent contribution,  for  the  influence  goes  on  year  after  year  in 
ever  widening  circles.  The  appeal  of  childhood  and  youth 
cannot  find  students  unresponsive. 

It  will  be  seen  readily  that  the  work  outlined  for  the  Sunday 
school  is  no  longer  restricted  to  the  care  of  one  shred  or  in- 
terest in  life.    It  aims  to  develop  each  one  to  his  highest  and 


112    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

best  as  the  ideal  is  set  for  us  in  Christ.  One  cannot  do  this 
without  seeking  by  all  means  in  one's  power  to  better  all  the 
conditions  that  make  for  health,  for  a  developed  and  trained 
mind  and  body,  for  rich,  wholesome  social  living,  and  for  pure, 
strong  moral  character  and  spiritual  life.  That  is,  the  one 
who  gives  himseK  to  the  promotion  of  rehgious  education 
necessarily  promotes  every  cause  and  agency  such  as  those 
suggested  in  Chapter  III.  Root  one's  interest  in  the  Sunday 
school  and  every  helpful  agency  has  necessarily  a  new  recruit. 

And  now,  as  never  before,  communities  are  promoting  the 
teaching  of  religion  by  Bible  study  in  connection  with  the 
public  schools,  daily  vacation  Bible  schools,  community 
weekday  religious  schools,  and  training  schools  for  leaders. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  significant  movements  of  the  time. 
The  college  student  has  a  wonderful  opportunity  for  leader- 
ship here. 

Some  of  the  special  reasons  why  the  college  man  and  col- 
lege woman  should  help  in  this  work  are  the  following: 

1.  The  school  is  carried  on  by  volunteer  workers.  They 
often  feel  they  are  alone.  Usually  they  welcome  a  new  worker 
with  joy.  A  trained  recruit  is  an  inspiration  to  them.  Does 
the  student  recognize  how  eagerly  the  ordinary  church  looks 
forward  to  the  return  of  the  student  at  vacation  time  or  to 
the  coming  of  the  new  teacher,  doctor,  agricultural  repre- 
sentative? Do  they  recognize  that  the  sinister  and  evil 
influences  also  look  forward  with  equal  eagerness?  If  stu- 
dents only  realized  this  vividly,  fewer  would  be  on  the  wrong 
side  or  try  to  be  neutral.  In  moral  and  religious  influence 
there  can  he  no  neutrality. 

2.  The  college  man  and  woman  have  enjoyed  privileges 
shared  by  few,  conferred  on  them  by  the  labors  of  others. 
The  resulting  moral  obligation  is  self-evident. 

3.  Because  of  these  privileges  and  the  position  held  in  the 
community  they  have  an  influence  much  greater  than  they 
ordinarily  would  have.  Everyone  will  watch  for  their 
attitude  to  the  Church.    Without  their  knowing  it  the  boys 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  113 

and  girls  are  shaping  their  lives  by  their  example.  There  is 
no  neutral  ground.  However  good  or  harmless  one's  inten- 
tions, his  example  is  virulent  if  it  weakens  loyalty  to  what 
stands  for  the  best.  It  will  be,  unfortunately,  easy  to  give 
examples  of  the  injury  to  a  community  caused  by  the  in- 
difference or  opposition  to  the  Church  on  the  part  of  the  col- 
lege graduates,  whether  teacher,  doctor,  lawyer,  agricultural 
representative  or  nurse.  It  is  still  easier  and  much  more 
pleasant  to  share  the  blessing  and  strength  that  come  from 
loyal  enthusiastic,  outspoken  support  and  cooperation  with 
the  Church  and  other  helpful  agencies.  The  writer  cannot 
forget  the  effect  on  himself  of  a  professor  of  philosophy  in  a 
great  university  speaking  out  frankly  in  class,  whenever  the 
occasion  arose,  of  the  supremacy  of  spiritual  things  and  the 
predominance  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  What  must  be  the  effect 
on  boys  and  girls  and  young  people  who  have  not  very  deep 
convictions  of  the  words  and  example  of  their  teachers  and 
leaders  —  the  people  they  look  up  to  and  honor! 

4.  The  student  and  newcomer  is  free  from  any  local  jeal- 
ousies, has  seen  work  in  other  places  and  is  expected  to  make 
suggestions  where  perhaps  young  people  in  the  community 
would  be  frowned  down. 

5.  Students  have  had  time  to  think  out  the  issues  of  life, 
away  from  the  world-welter  and  the  struggle  for  bread.  They 
have  come  to  see  that  not  what  we  get  out  of  life  but  what  we 
put  into  it,  is  what  makes  success.  They  recognize  the  truth 
of  what  Horace  Greeley  said  when  dying:  ^^Fame  is  a  vapor, 
popularity  an  accident,  riches  take  wings,  those  who  cheer  to- 
day will  curse  tomorrow,  only  one  thing  endures  —  Char- 
acter.'' In  these  reconstruction  times  every  one  feels  that 
his  best  efforts  are  but  tiny  compared  with  the  needs  in  his 
own  and  other  countries.  But  the  War  has  clearly  shown 
that  a  country  is  not  made  safe  or  great  by  its  citizens  being 
trained  in  body  and  mind,  or  by  the  extent  of  its  industry  and 
trade.  Germany  has  shown  the  futility  of  trust  in  these 
things.    A  country  is  great  only  if  the  character  of  its  people 


114    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

is  noble  and  good.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  reUgious  educa- 
tion is  essentially  the  fundamental  work  in  reconstruction.  It 
is  perfectly  clear  that  it  alone  will  solve  the  difficulties  of  such 
countries  as  Russia  and  Turkey.  No  more  sacred  duty  rests 
on  Christian  nations  today  than  the  development  of  Christ- 
Hke  character  in  its  own  children  and  young  people  and  in 
those  of  the  mission  lands  throughout  the  world. 

This  being  so,  where  can  one  get  such  returns  as  from  work 
with  and  for  children  and  young  people  in  the  church  school? 
Then  the  question  comes,  "Am  I  fitting  myself  during  these 
college  years  to  give  leadership  in  this  great  and  fundamental 
work?"^ 

Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation  and  Practice 
Work 

i  1.  Read  Matt.  18:  1-14;  Mark.  10:  13-16. 
/  2.   Discuss  every  question  on  page  98.    Contrast  Christ's 
words  about  children  and  our  fidelity  —  my  fidelity  —  as 
trustee. 

3.  What  influence  should  the  above  and  the  facts  re- 
corded on  page  99  have  on  church  work  and  my  investment 
of  life? 

4.  Discuss  the  importance  of  the  home  in  character  for- 
mation and  how  the  college  graduate  could  help  the  home. 
Come  to  definite  decisions  about  questions  under  (1)  page  112. 

5.  Plan  to  have  each  member  of  the  class  visit  for  several 
Sundays,  the  best  departments  and  classes  in  which  he  is 
specially  interested.  For  example,  one  will  visit  the  best 
Beginners  or  Primary  Department;  another  the  Junior; 
others.  Older  Boys  and  Girls,  Seniors,  Young  People,  and 
Adults;  and  others  will  study  vacation  Bible  schools  and 
community  weekday  schools  for  religious  education. 

6.  Each  one  should  also  visit  the  weekday  sessions  of  the 
department,  including  those  using  the  Standard  ESiciency 
Tests,  and  of  Camp  Fire  Girls,  Girl  Guides,  and  Scouts. 


THE  CHURCH  SCHOOL  116 

7.  Discuss  thoroughly  these  visits  in  the  class,  making  a 
point  of  reporting  every  exceptionally  good  example  of  wor- 
ship, study,  service,  or  organization.  Make  notes  of  these 
for  future  use. 

8.  If  one  is  anxious  to  help  children  achieve  their  highest 
and  best  —  the  aim  of  reUgious  education  —  is  it  true  that  he 
must  necessarily  want  to  promote  every  helpful  child  welfare 
agency?     (Page  110.) 

9.  Is  it  true  that  we  cannot  be  neutral  in  our  influence 
either  for  or  against  morals  and  religion?  What  bearing 
does  this  have  on  one's  outward  attitude  to  these  things? 

10.  Discuss  the  statement  ^^  Religious  education  is  essen- 
tially the  fundamental  work  in  reconstruction,"  keeping  in 
mind  the  future  of  our  own  and  other  lands.  Then  thought- 
fully read  again  the  last  sentence  in  the  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IX 
HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD 

Provided  it  is  true,  as  we  believe  it  is,  that  every  wholesome 
student  is  eager  to  make  the  best  investment  of  his  life  and  to 
work  through  whatever  agency  will  give  the  best  results,  and 
further  that  the  student  is  convinced  that  the  Church  offers 
the  best  opportunity  for  service,  the  question  arises,  how  can 
one  actually  take  hold? 

In  some  places,  it  will  be  said,  the  church  is  progressive  and 
one  will  be  welcomed  and  set  to  work  but  in  other  places  the 
church  is  narrow  and  dead,  even  the  minister  and  the  officials 
see  no  need  of  change,  and  all  would  oppose,  or  kill  with  in- 
difference, any  attempt  to  move  out  into  a  larger  service. 
Unfortunately  the  latter  is  sometimes  true,  but  one  fact  is 
usually  overlooked  by  those  who  make  the  statement,  and  that 
is,  that  in  practically  every  church  the  real  workers  feel 
keenly  the  need  of  progress  and  will  welcome  with  open  arms 
the  college  man  or  woman  who  has  the  larger  vision.  If  the 
church  as  a  whole  does  not  see  its  opportunity,  what  a  chance 
for  the  man  or  woman  fresh  from  college  and  rich  in  the  ex- 
perience of  what  others  are  doing  to  lead  it  out!  How  much 
one  multiplies  himself  who  sets  a  whole  organization  at  work 
with  new  motives  and  new  enthusiasm!  Such  a  result  is  far 
more  fruitful  than  even  highly  successful  individual  effort. 

A  very  great  deal  depends  on  the  attitude  with  which  one  ap- 
proaches the  local  church.  Herein  hes  one  of  the  greatest 
causes  of  success  or  failure.  Human  nature  is  so  constituted 
that  it  is  easy  to  place  the  blame  on  others  for  results  due  to 
our  own  shortcomings.  A  good  deal  of  the  reported  lack  of 
sympathy  with  new  ideas  —  though  not  all  of  it  by  any 

116 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  117 

means  —  is  due  to  the  attitude  and  spirit  of  their  advocates. 
We  have  all  met  some  of  these  people  —  good  folk  with  fine 
ideas  but  —  well,  just  their  attitude! 

Common  sense  tells  us  that  we  can  do  little  upbuilding 
work  with  any  group  upon  whom  we  look  with  a  sense  of 
ridicule,  or  patronizingly,  or  with  a  feeling  of  superiority. 
Nor  can  one  hope  to  do  anything  purposeful  or  progressive 
with  any  body  of  people  if  he  chiefly  finds  fault  with  what 
they  are  doing  and  is  always  indulging  in  negative,  destructive 
criticism.  The  market  is  glutted  with  this  kind  of  com- 
modity. The  college  student  should  be  too  wise  to  try  to 
carry  such  goods.  One  word  of  hearty  commendation  and 
good  will  does  more  for  the  world  than  volumes  of  indis- 
criminate faultfinding.  Neither  can  that  person  hope  to 
succeed  in  any  community  who  comes  ostensibly  conscious 
of  his  superior  wisdom  and  his  heaven-appointed  mission  to 
transform  it,  and  who  therefore  assumes  control  and  takes 
credit  for  all  that  is  done.  May  heaven  protect  the  church 
that  is  under  the  evangel  of  the  college  "  highbrow."  And  no 
community  sifts,  weighs,  and  correctly  estimates  one  more 
accurately  than  the  country,  though  the  city  may  reveal  its 
mind  more  quickly.  These  statements  are  so  self-evident 
that  one  would  have  to  apologize  for  making  them  were  it 
not  that  these  same  mistakes  are  being  constantly  made, 
even  by  well-intentioned  people.  Whether  these  mistakes 
"easily  beset"  the  collegian  let  each  answer  for  himseK. 

Now,  on  the  other  hand,  the  best  people  in  every  community 
honor  one  who  is  a  true  friend,  who  loves  people,  and  who, 
with  sympathy,  modesty,  ability,  and  helpful,  constructive 
policy  works  with  them.  In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred  the  one  who  takes  up  his  work  in  any  community  in 
this  spirit  will  have  the  backing  and  support  of  the  best  people 
and  great  opportunity  for  leading  out  into  new  and  richer 
fields  of  service.  "Oh  Lord,  help  me  to  love  my  people"  was 
the  constant  prayer  of  a  young  minister  about  to  be  settled  in 
his  first  charge.    He  felt  that  he  could  hope  to  do  little  other- 


118    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

wise.  This  should  be  the  prayer  of  everyone  who  seeks  to 
serve.  In  seeking  to  take  hold,  then,  the  first  step  is  to  de- 
velop and  cultivate  within  ourselves  the  right  attitude  to 
those  with  whom  and  through  whom  we  work. 

The  second  point  is,  gain  the  confidence  of  the  people.  The 
college  man  or  woman  locating  in  a  community  should  show 
at  once  his  attitude  to  spiritual  things.  This  will  be  judged 
pretty  largely  by  his  attitude  to  the  Church.  Even  if  one  has 
been  a  bit  lax  in  church  attendance  in  college,  it  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  now  he  stands  in  a  different  relation  to  others. 
The  eyes  of  many  are  upon  him;  the  young  people  especially 
will  be  mightily  influenced;  the  positive  or  the  negative  re- 
ligious forces  will  get  new  impulse  from  his  action,  especially 
from  the  first  impressions.  First  impressions  are  difficult  to 
change.  Therefore  let  him  run  up  his  colors,  nail  them  to 
the  mast,  the  very  first  day!  Nothing  should  on  any  con- 
sideration prevent  his  attending  church  from  the  first. 

Besides,  it  is  the  easiest  way  for  any  one  who  wants  to  live 
his  best  life.  It  is  the  best  time  to  make  a  fresh  start.  And 
one  inevitably  attracts  to  himself  the  positive  or  negative 
forces  as  inevitably  as  does  the  magnetic  yeedle  attract  or 
repel.  It  is  written  of  Jesus  that  on  His  return  to  Capernaum 
^*as  his  custom  was,  he  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  sabbath 
day''  (Luke  4: 16)  and  entered  heartily  into  the  worship  and 
teaching.  Identifying  oneself  in  this  manner  with  what  the 
Church  stands  for  naturally  gains  the  confidence  of  the  church 
workers,  who  gladly  admit  us  into  the  family  circle.  And 
this  is  necessary,  a  fact  overlooked  by  many  harsh  critics  of 
the  Church  who  wonder  why  the  Church  does  not  come  to 
them,  rank  outsiders  and  critics  as  they  are,  and  take  their 
advice  and  leadership  —  an  attitude  no  one  would  assume  to 
a  lodge,  business  concern,  or  any  other  organization. 

A  practical  difficulty  arises  where  there  are  two  or  more 
competing  churches  in  the  one  community.  If  the  student 
attends  one,  does  he  not  thereby  alienate  the  other?  A  good 
deal  of  this  talk  originates  with  those  who  overestimate  their 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  119 

own  importance.  No  church  is  going  to  grow  envious  or 
rise  en  masse  because  a  young  teacher,  doctor,  or  agricultural 
representative  does  not  honor  them  with  his  presence!  Turn 
the  tables  for  a  minute.  Let  the  student  ask  himself,  ''Would 
I  turn  against  an  engineer,  dentist,  or  music  teacher  because 
he  attended  the  other  church?^'     How  absurd! 

There  is  another  good  reason  for  identifying  oneself  with 
one  church  at  once.  Difficulty  is  sure  to  arise  if  one  hesitates, 
hovering  between  two  or  more.  Each  then  expects,  and  has 
a  right  to  expect,  one's  allegiance.  Disappointed,  a  reaction 
is  apt  to  set  in.  People  feel  they  have  not  been  treated  quite 
fairly.  It  is  always  dangerous  and  decidedly  wrong  to  play 
with  the  feelings  or  affections  of  others.  This  is  a  good  thing 
for  young  people  to  remember  in  reference  to  personal  friend- 
ships as  well  as  to  the  Church  and  other  relationships. 

One  thing  all  decent  people  will  be  anxious  about,  not 
whether  the  newcomer  is  Jew  or  Gentile,  Baptist,  Methodist, 
or  Presbyterian,  but  whether  he  is  religious,  whether  he  can 
always  be  counted  on  as  a  force  for  every  righteous,  humane 
course.  And  one  guarantee  to  them  will  be  his  devoted  alle- 
giance to  his  own  church. 

Having  the  right  attitude  to  others  and  identifying  himself 
with  the  Church,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  he  will  receive 
many  invitations  to  help.  But  whether  so  or  not,  the  next 
step  is  to  get  into  close  touch  with  that  group  or  section 
through  and  with  which  he  feels  he  can  do  most,  such  as,  for 
example,  a  department  of  the  Sunday  school,  the  missionary 
or  social  service  committees  of  the  young  people.  Now  the 
open  sesame  is  to  know  the  work  and  so  he  able  to  make  sugges- 
tions that  will  appeal  to  the  group  and  open  up  new  vistas. 
The  ordinary  church  workers  welcome  new  ideas  and  while 
some  will  not  respond,  will  even  oppose,  the  live  workers  will 
respond.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  conditions  are  not 
otherwise  outside  the  Church.  Ideals  would  work  Uke  a 
charm  if  it  were  not  for  folks!  If  one  can  present  a  big  pro- 
gram that  will  swing  all  the  church,  that  is  a  great  achieve- 


120    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

ment.  But  often  the  best  work  is  done  by  permeating  a 
small  group  and  working  out  successfully  progressive  plans 
there.  It  will  then  very  soon  spread  throughout  the  other 
organizations  of  the  church  and  community.  (Read  again 
Chapters  VII  and  VIII.) 

Two  points  need  to  be  kept  in  mind.  First,  that  to  be 
most  effective  the  student  should  know  the  present-day  work 
of  the  best  churches.  So  many  students  know  only  some  old- 
fashioned  church  that  belongs  to  twenty  years  ago,  judges  all 
church  work  by  this  —  as  is  also  often  the  case  in  speeches, 
articles,  and  books  —  and  while  in  college  never  gets  to  know 
anything  of  the  best  practices  of  today.  There  is  as  much 
difference  between  the  two  types  as  there  is  between  the 
hospitals,  factories,  schools,  and  other  institutions  of  the 
former  and  the  present  day.  One  who  does  not  know  some- 
thing about,  for  example,  the  revolutionary  Religious  Educa- 
tion Movement  and  the  consequent  change  in  Sunday  school 
work  is  not  in  a  position  to  exert  his  best  influence  for  better 
educational  work  in  the  Church.  Too  often  the  student 
knows  no  more  about  church  work  on  leaving  college  than 
when  he  entered.  Every  student  who  wants  to  help  promote 
the  Kingdom  of  God  should  take  particular  pains  to  know  at  first 
hand  everything  he  can  about  how  the  Church  of  today  carries  on 
its  work.  This  can  be  done  by  working  in  a  church,  by  visit- 
ing and  observing  others,  and  by  study.  Several  courses  on 
the  modern  Church  are  issued  by  various  Sunday  school 
publishing  houses. 

The  other  point  is  this.  In  religious  work  it  often  happens 
that  he  leads  most  who  least  appears  to  lead.  A  weakness 
for  being  in  the  spotHght  does  not  enhance  one's  effectiveness. 
The  best  leader  is  the  one  who  develops  others,  so  that  they 
carry  on  the  work  whether  he  remains  with  them  or  not.  The 
student  should  have  this  as  his  ideal.  The  best  test  of  one's 
work  is  not  what  has  been  done  but  how  many  are  quahfied 
and  eager  to  continue  the  work  and  to  push  out  in  ever 
increasing  endeavor. 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  121 

But  one  need  not  confine  his  energies  to  one  group.  Each 
has  many  interests  and  many  contacts.  While  perhaps 
giving  his  chief  strength  to  some  one  undertaking,  he  touches 
and  inspires  many  others,  setting  groups  to  work  in  many 
directions.  Take  one  case.  The  church  was  at  a  standstill. 
The  progressive  party  was  held  up.  A  new  business  man 
was  appointed  on  the  building  committee.  He  never  made  a 
speech  in  his  life.  But  things  began  to  move.  Creaking 
wheels  were  oiled.  The  new  church  took  form.  The  young 
people  undertook  big  things.  A  large  choir  came  into  being. 
The  manse  was  made  quite  fit  to  live  in  by  the  Ladies'  Aid. 
A  cooperative  local  company  of  farmers  was  organized  to 
dig  river  mud  —  a  great  step  towards  better  farming.  The 
various  public  school  houses  in  the  district  were  scarcely 
recognizable  in  their  new  paint  and  equipment.  All  he  did 
was  to  give  the  little  touch  here  and  there  that  was  needed 
to  smooth  away  difficulties,  to  swing  opinion,  to  add  his  in- 
fluence to  break  the  deadlock.  Then,  one  thing  succeeding, 
the  idea  spread.  Nothing  is  more  contagious  than  a  good  idea 
incarnated  in  life  and  expressed  in  successful  action. 

In  order  to  be  as  effective  as  possible  the  student  or  graduate 
should  not  only  be  identified  with  but  should  he  a  member  of 
the  local  church.  Some  misguided  folks  tire  us  with  their 
chatter  about  its  being  narrowing  to  join  a  church.  Who  is 
the  better  friend,  one  who  is  not  loyal  to  his  own  family  or 
one  who  is?  Who  is  the  better  soldier,  one  who  is  not  loyal 
to  his  own  country  or  one  who  is?  Whom  do  we  prefer  as  a 
chum,  one  who  sticks  to  his  friends  or  one  who  is  so  broad  he 
has  none? 

Another  excuse  is  that  one  can  be  just  as  good  without 
joining  a  church.  So,  some  argue,  they  can  be  just  as  good 
without  keeping  one  special  day  in  seven,  or  habitual  times 
for  prayer  and  Bible  reading.  Others  argue  that  regular 
forms  of  marriage  are  unnecessary  as  is  also  constancy  in  love. 
For  many  years  influential  persons  have  argued  that  total 
abstinence  limits  personal  freedom.    It  is  safe  to  leave  de- 


122    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

cision  to  the  honest  thought  of  each  student  who  knows  what 
it  is  to  try  to  Hve  right,  for  such  an  one  knows  the  value  and 
absolute  necessity,  in  the  present  stage  of  human  develop- 
ment, of  sanctions,  standards,  and  the  pledged  ideal. 

Still  another  well-worn  objection  is  that  some  members 
and  office-holders  are  unworthy  and  that  many  outside  the 
Church  are  much  better  than  they.  Also  that  the  Church's 
gospel  lags  behind  modern  progress.  For  an  answer  let  us 
turn  to  the  Master  Himself. 

In  the  first  place  Jesus  joined  the  reform  movement  of  John 
the  Baptist.  He  did  not  by  any  means  agree  at  all  points 
with  the  stern  prophet.  John  had  only  a  partial  revelation. 
His  preaching  was  harsh,  his  doctrine  narrow.  Hear  him  cry, 
''The  axe  is  laid  unto  the  roots  of  the  trees;  therefore  every 
tree  which  bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit  is  hewn  down  and 
cast  into  the  fire."  But  of  Jesus  it  was  said,  "The  bruised 
reed  will  he  not  break."  John's  coarse  clothing,  austere 
manner,  and  desert  life  were  the  opposite  of  the  ideals  of  Jesus. 
Jesus  was  much  superior  to  John  intellectually  and  in  spiritual 
things.  Yet  he  publicly  united  with  John's  mission  because 
it  represented  a  great  moral  and  spiritual  reform. 

Then,  again,  Judas  was  one  of  Jesus'  personal  band,  an 
office-holder  in  fact.  Jesus  must  have  known  something  of 
his  character.  Yet  he  continued  leader  of  the  band  and 
invited  others  to  become  members.  Men  like  Peter,  James, 
and  John  also  remained  in  the  company.  Yet  some  pre- 
sumably intelligent  people  affect  to  be  unable  to  join  a  church 
because,  forsooth,  there  are  imperfect  people  in  it!  These 
questions  can  be  left  to  the  modesty  of  each  student. 

Then  there  is  no  getting  away  from  the  fact  that  we  must 
work  in  an  organized  way  to  be  effective.  The  history  of  the 
Church  is  a  wonderful  record  of  achievement.  Its  contribu- 
tion at  the  present  time  is  essential  to  human  welfare  (Chap- 
ter VI).  It  is  the  only  organization  which  is  entirely  devoted 
to  the  unselfish  service  of  humanity  in  the  broadest  sense  of 
the  term.    It  is  responsive  to  every  cry  of  need,  to  every  noble 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  123 

impulse.  Led  and  inspired  by  Christians  of  vision,  it  becomes 
the  mainspring  of  spiritual  life.  In  many  cases  it  is  true  it 
needs  new  blood,  new  impulse.  Have  our  students  and 
graduates  anything  to  contribute?  Here  is  their  great 
opportunity. 

Besides,  there  is  always  the  influence  of  our  example  on 
others.  What  would  our  country  be  like  if  our  people  gave 
up  the  Church?  The  thought  staggers  us.  The  best  teach- 
ing is  example.  The  old  Eastern  proverb  is  right,  "What 
you  are  speaks  so  loud  I  cannot  hear  what  you  say.^^  For 
others,  and  particularly  for  boys  and  girls,  the  Church  stands 
for  God  and  service.  They  need  to  be  committed  now  to 
some  great  Cause.  On  this  depends  very  largely  their  moral 
and  spiritual  life  and  their  stronghold  in  lifers  tests.  Your 
attitude  and  example  may  be  the  determining  factor  in  their 
decision. 

Besides,  everyone  needs  the  stimulus  of  Christian  fellow- 
ship and  the  strength  that  comes  from  being  linked  up  with 
the  best  men  and  women  not  only  of  the  present  but  of  all 
time.  If  it  is  true  that  there  are  some  unworthy  people  in  the 
Church,  it  is  also  true  it  contains  men  and  women  of  such 
nobility  of  soul  that  most  of  us  are  unworthy  to  imloose  the 
latchet  of  their  shoes.  We,  if  we  are  trying  to  do  anything 
worth  while,  need  their  fellowship  and  must  consider  it  one 
of  our  greatest  blessings  to  be  allowed  to  be  fellow-workers 
with  them.  No  one  can  retain  his  enthusiasm  for  every  good 
cause  in  the  face  of  indifference,  ignorance,  opposition,  defeat 
unless  he  is  sustained  and  inspired  by  this  fellowship,  and 
faith  in  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  commitment  to  a 
great  cause. 

"A  great  task  demands  a  great  faith.  To  live  a  great 
life  a  man  needs  a  great  cause  to  which  he  can  surrender, 
something  divinely  large  and  engrossing  for  which  he  can 
live  and,  if  need  be,  die.  A  great  rehgious  faith  will  lift  him 
out  of  his  narrow  grooves  and  make  him  the  inspired  in- 
strument of  the  universal  will  of  God.    It  is  the  point  at 


124    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

which  the  mind  of  man  coincides  with  the  mind  of  the 
Eternal."  ^ 

After  all  the  reasons  are  sifted  that  good  people  give  for  not 
joining  the  Church,  we  now  come  upon  the  real  foundation 
reason.  Is  it  not  the  hesitation  to  throw  oneself  out  of  his 
narrow  groove,  to  trust  himself  to  a  great  cause,  to  commit 
himself  publicly  and  irretrievably?  Is  the  basal  reason  a  bit 
of  cowardice  ?  Of  lack  of  faith  ?  Yet  without  that  step  there 
can  be  no  complete  harmony  and  focusing  of  all  one's  power. 
Commit  oneself!  How  often  since  the  War  began  has  this 
truth,  so  long  insisted  on  by  the  Church,  been  seen  to  be 
fundamental.  Men  and  women,  hotly  patriotic,  who  just 
stop  short  of  volunteering.  How  cheap  words  are!  Actual 
commitment  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world.  The 
United  States  was  strongly  pro-ally.  But  how  it  found  its 
soul  when  it  declared  war! 

We  all  need  definite,  irrevocable  commitment  to  have  the 
new  life.  Lack  of  it  makes  many  a  good  citizen  weakly  good. 
Just  what  actually  committing  oneseK  is  on  the  part  of  one 
who  means  well  and  resolves  mightily  is  brought  out  with  a 
novelist's  ^  power  in  the  story  of  a  young  student  whose  soul 
revolted  against  war.  His  friends  went.  His  brother  went. 
His  closest  friend  was  killed.  Then  his  brother  was  killed. 
The  night  he  got  the  wire  from  home  of  his  brother's  death  he 
saw  things  differently.  He  decided  to  go,  though  he  hated  it 
as  much  as  ever.    Then  his  mother's  letter  came. 

"He  answered  this  letter  at  once.  He  wrote:  'I  couldn't 
bear  it  either,  if  I  were  not  going  out.  But  of  course  I'm 
going  now.'  As  he  signed  himself,  ^Your  loving  Michael' 
he  thought:  'That  settles  it.'  Yet  if  he  had  considered 
what  he  meant  by  settling  it  he  would  have  told  himself 
that  he  meant  nothing;  that  last  night  had  settled  it;  that 
his  resolution  had  been  absolutely  self-determined  and  abso- 
lutely irrevocable  then,  and  that  his  signature  gave  it  no 

^  Rauschenbusch,  ''Christianizing  the  Social  Order,"  p.  40. 
^  May  Sinclair.    Italics  mine. 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  125 

more  sanctity  or  finality  than  it  had  already.  If  he  was 
conscript  he  was  conscript  to  his  own  will.  He  went  out  at 
once  with  this  letter,  though  he  knew  that  the  post  did  not 
leave  Renton  for  another  five  hours.  It  was  the  sliding  of 
this  light  thing  and  the  fall  into  the  letter  box  that  shook  him 
into  realization  of  what  he  had  done  and  of  what  was  before 
him.  He  knew  now  why  he  was  in  such  a  hurry  to  write 
that  letter  and  to  post  it.  By  those  two  slight  acts,  not  dread- 
ful nor  difficult  in  themselves,  he  had  put  it  out  of  his  power  to 
withdraw  from  the  one  supremely  difficult  and  dreadful  act. 
A  second  ago  while  the  letter  was  still  in  his  hands  he  could 
have  backed  out,  because  he  had  not  given  any  pledge.  Now 
he  would  have  to  go  through  with  it.  And  he  saw  clearly 
for  the  first  time  what  it  was  that  he  would  have  to  go 
through.'^  ^ 

Definite,  irrevocable  commitment  is  necessary  to  make  life 
strong.  How  much  of  the  hesitation  to  join  the  Church  is  due 
to  the  fear  of  committing  oneself  ?  Not  a  reason  of  which  one 
can  be  overly  proud! 

Every  thoughtful  person  knows  that  we  are  face  to  face 
with  grave  problems  at  the  present  time.  The  world  conflict 
has  created  a  new  world.  No  one  can  foretell  what  may 
happen  any  day.  No  patent  remedy  will  suffice.  It  is  a  time 
for  earnest  prayer  and  reverent  consecration.  But  suppose 
the  gravest  and  most  electric  situations  develop,  seeming  to 
threaten  existing  institutions,  customs,  and  sanctions,  whether 
to  improve  or  destroy  —  what  can  be  the  greatest  safeguard 
in  any  and  every  emergency?  I  wish  every  reader  could  be 
brought  to  real  grips  with  this  situation  and  be  forced  to 
think  it  out.  It  is  clear  at  once  that  nothing  remedial  will  do. 
No  amount  of  better  wages,  housing,  health,  etc.,  etc.,  will 
touch  the  problem,  though,  as  will  be  seen  from  former 
chapters,  the  author  stresses  the  necessity  for  all  such  im- 
provements. The  only  effective  safeguard  in  the  handling  of 
dangerous  and  momentous  problems  is  the  good  character  of  the 


May  Sinclair.    Italics  mine. 


126    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

people  concerned.  The  most  trivial  discussion  is  fraught  with 
greater  dangers  among  drunken  outlaws  than  the  most  vital 
and  stupendous  question  among  cultured  men  and  women. 
No  one  may  be  able  to  say  what  is  the  best  solution  of  the 
thousand  questions  that  must  be  solved  in  these  days.  But 
we  need  have  no  fear  of  calamity  if  our  people  are  men  and 
women  who  have  achieved  for  themselves,  in  conscious  fellow- 
ship with  God,  nobility  of  character  expressed  in  love  to  God 
and  their  fellows.  Whether  the  decisions  arrived  at  are  the 
wisest  or  not,  the  great  things  at  stake  will  be  safe.  All  of  us 
want  to  do  everything  we  can  for  our  country  and  the  world. 
We  envy  those  who  have  been  able  to  give  themselves,  body 
and  sold,  to  winning  the  War.  Two  whole  generations  of 
college  men  in  Great  Britain  and  France,  not  to  mention 
Belgium  and  other  European  countries,  have  been  wiped  out; 
the  losses  in  Canada  and  the  United  States  have  been  very 
heavy.  By  their  lives  and  their  deaths  they  call  to  us.  We 
have  heard  the  challenge.  It  sings  to  us  in  the  unforgettable 
lines  "In  Flanders  Fields.''  It  comes  particularly  to  the 
greatly  blessed  college  students.  Will  we  take  up  the  torch? 
Will  we  live  that  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  may  keep 
safe  here  the  cause  for  which  they  died  there  ?  Will  we  give 
ourselves,  body  and  soul,  to  developing  that  character  which 
alone  can  make  the  torch  burn  steadily  and  not  go  out? 
This  is  the  real  test  to  which  each  student  is  being  subjected. 
God  Himself  knows  how  eager  each  one  is  to  measure  up  to 
every  test  for  his  country  and  for  his  Master. 

So  today  let  each  one  dedicate  himself  anew  —  to  his 
country,  to  his  f ellowmen,  to  God  —  dedicate  himself  and  re- 
solve to  put  all  his  energy  in  whatever  line  of  work  he  may  be 
engaged  in,  to  use  every  endeavor  to  promote  the  develop- 
ment of  the  highest  character  among  all  people  everywhere, 
and  especially  to  promote  in  every  way  the  best  religious 
education  of  all  children  and  young  people  and  to  seek  the 
voluntary  commitment  of  each  one  to  a  great  and  noble 
cause.    This  is  the  most  effective  and  far-reaching  of  all  work. 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  127 

It  would  be  quite  inexcusable  to  close  this  course  without 
confronting  the  student  with  one  further  question.  We  all 
are  agreed  today  as  to  the  magnificent  opportunities  for  carry- 
ing out  our  dedication  and  resolve  in  any  occupation.  Not  a 
few  are  specifically  "cut  out"  for  definite  lines  of  work.  But 
most  students  have  qualities  that  would  bring  success  in  any 
one  of  various  fields.  Just  now  when  the  need  is  so  great,  when 
churches  and  mission  fields  are  so  seriously  undermanned, 
when  material  gain  is  so  tempting  in  other  fields,  the  student 
must  frankly  face  the  question,  ''Should  I  not  take  up  some 
form  of  religious  work  for  my  life  work? '^  The  churches  and 
mission  fields  just  now  need  hundreds.  Rehgious  education 
calls  for  an  ever-increasing  number  as  directors  of  religious 
education,  secretaries,  and  pastors'  assistants;  social  work 
and  every  other  line  of  distinctively  Christian  activity  calls 
for  volunteers. 

No  one  wields  a  greater  influence  than  a  good  minister, 
or  than  one  who  leads  children  and  young  people  in  religious 
things.  Missionaries  and  social  workers  are  great  in  service. 
Every  religious  leader  today  deals  in  big  affairs  and  leads 
and  handles  people  —  the  Idnd  of  work  that  is  so  inspiring 
to  young  people!  It  is  a  good  plan  to  write  down  for  our 
own  private  use  reasons  why  we  should  and  why  we  should 
not  take  up  distinctively  Christian  work.  To  write  down  in 
black  and  white  our  reasons  for  and  against  any  line  of  action 
is  a  great  clarifier  of  our  thinking. 

We  have  a  share  in  the  making  of  a  civilization,  in  shaping 
the  destiny  of  our  nation  and  of  the  world.  We  are  being 
tested  by  the  mighty  events  about  us.  The  Church  must  be 
roused  to  undertake  big  things.  The  people  responded  to 
every  great  appeal  in  the  War.  They  will  rise  to  heroic  en- 
deavor if  the  world  needs  in  religious  education,  social  ser- 
vice, and  missions  are  presented  in  a  big  way.  God  help  us 
each  one  to  do  his  part  humbly  and  well,  so  that  after  all  the 
travail  of  life  he  may  be  satisfied.  The  noble  words  of  Josiah 
Royce  the  philosopher  bring  us  a  ringing  closing  message; 


128    CHRISTIAN  LIFE  IN  THE  COMMUNITY 

'^You,  at  this  moment,  have  the  honor  to  belong  to  a 
generation  whose  hps  are  touched  with  fire.  .  .  .  The  hmnan 
race  now  passes  through  one  of  its  great  crises.  New  ideas, 
new  issues  —  a  new  call  for  men  to  carry  on  the  work  of 
righteousness,  of  charity,  of  courage,  of  patience,  and  of 
loyalty  —  all  these  things  have  come  and  are  daily  coming 
to  you. 

When  you  are  old  .  .  .  however  memory  brings  back 
this  moment  to  your  minds,  let  it  be  able  to  say  to  you: 
That  was  a  great  moment.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era.  .  .  .  This  world  in  its  crisis  called  for  volunteers,  for 
men  of  faith  in  life,  of  patience  in  service,  of  charity  and  of 
insight.  I  responded  to  the  call  however  I  could.  I  volun- 
teered to  give  myself  to  my  Master  —  the  cause  of  humane 
and  brave  living.  I  studied,  I  loved,  I  labored,  unsparingly 
and  hopefully,  to  be  worthy  of  my  generation/' 


Suggestions  for  Study,  Investigation  and  Practice 
Work 

1.  Read  Luke  4:  14-22.  Should  not  every  student  follow 
the  example  of  Jesus  in  this  particular,  and  can  he  not  in  a 
real  sense  claim  vs.  18-19  as  his  own?  (All  preaching  of  the 
Gospel  is  not  by  public  speaking.)  Why  did  Jesus  seek  a 
personal  decision  about  Himself  from  His  disciples?  Matt. 
16:13-16.  Read  Luke  6;  9:1-6  and  10:1-9.  In  what 
way  can  I  have  the  fullest  share  in  this  service  of  humanity? 
On  what  condition  can  I  pray  the  second  sentence  of  Luke 
10:2? 

2.  Discuss  the  two  points  stated  on  page  118  in  relation  to 
work  in  any  organization,  and  how  far  we  can  go  in  taking 
Jesus  as  our  example  as  suggested  on  page  118. 

3.  Are  not  the  two  points  on  page  120  true?  See  that 
everyone  in  the  class  studies  some  particular  phase  of  church 
work  as  it  is  carried  on  today.  The  Sunday  school  waa 
studied  in  the  last  chapter.  Now  take  up  by  groups  such 
work  as  city  missions;  home  missions;  foreign  missions;  social 


HOW  TO  TAKE  HOLD  129 

service.  Personally  investigate  as  many  of  these  activities 
as  possible.  Do  not  leave  college  without  seeing  the  best 
examples  of  them  and  other  church  undertakings.  Go  to  the 
head  officials  and  get  facts  as  to  amount  of  money  given, 
proportion  of  this  that  actually  goes  to  the  work,  number  of 
persons  touched,  and  other  items.  Compare  with  other 
efforts  in  the  same  line  carried  on  apart  from  the  Church. 

4.  Do  you  believe  in  the  contagion  of  a  good  idea  incar- 
nated in  life?  What  are  you  going  to  do  in  the  local  com- 
munity that  will  be  "catching''?  The  Sunday  school  may 
be  transformed  or  any  number  of  other  things  done. 

5.  Discuss  the  value  of  committing  oneself  to  a  cause. 
What  is  the  value  of  such  decisions  to  boys  and  girls  twelve 
to  twenty  years  of  age? 

6.  Facing  the  multitude  of  concrete  problems  before  the 
nations  today  is  "the  only  effective  safeguard  the  good  char- 
acter of  the  people  concerned"?  Take  concrete  cases  such 
as  a  labor  difficulty,  a  misunderstanding  with  someone,  a 
national  boundary  dispute. 

7.  The  class  should  get  from  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association,  Young  Women's  Christian  Association,  and  the 
various  mission  and  social  service  boards  the  list  of  oppor- 
tunities in  the  home  and  foreign  field.  Then  let  each  one 
write  out  the  reasons  why  he  should  and  should  not  —  if  there 
are  any  —  give  his  life  to  this  kind  of  work. 

8.  Read  again  "In  Flanders  Fields,"  page  32  and  the^ 
closing  quotation,  page  128. 

9.  Try  to  sum  up  for  yourself  the  opportunities  that  open 
up  to  you  for  the  leadership  of  service  through  the  Church. 


UNIVEESITY  OF  CALIFOENIA  LIBEAEY, 
BEEKELEY 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 

STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


frdiMjuuu^ 


280ec'49 


:'AQB^ 


YA  03796 


:487h3 


8Vi 
/A3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFOftNiA  LlBftARY- 


